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THE sind

GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,

RUGISTER

RURAL AND DOMESTIC IMPROVEMENT ;

COMPRISING

TREATISES ON LANDSCAPE GARDENING,
ARBORICULTURE, FLORICULTURE, HORTICULTURE,
AGRICULTURE, RURAL ARCHITECTURE,
GARDEN STRUCTURES,

PLANS OF GARDENS AND COUNTRY RESIDENCES,
SUBURBAN VILLAS, &c.

ALSO

LISTS OF NEW AND RARE PLANTS, FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.

CONDUCTED BY

Jae LOUD ONE AES able Sauce:

AUTHOR OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIAS OF GARDENING, OF AGRICULTURE, &c.

VOL. VII.

NEW SERIES.

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR THE CONDUCTOR ;

AND SOLD BY
LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS,
PATERNOSTER ROW ;

AND A. AND C. BLACK, EDINBURGH.

1s4l.

Se CAS He 2

Tue various matters treated of in the Gardener’s Magazine for
1841, will be found enumerated and classed in the following

, PREFACE.

TABLE OF CONTENTS,

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Page
GENERAL SUBJECT.

Mistorical, Statistical, and Critical.

‘ Summary View of the Progress of Gar-
jJening, and of Rural Improvement gene-
tally, in Britain, during the Year 1841 ;
with some Notices relative to the State of
ooth in Foreign Countries. By the Con-
ductor - - - - -
. Gardening Visit to Paris, from June 28. to

August 16. 1840: —

Paris ; Spirit of the People; Education
of the People; Expression of Opinion;
Asphalte Pavements; Butchers’ Shops;
Streets; Street Houses; Public Buildings ;
Public Gardens; Villas; Horticulture;
Floriculture; Arboriculture 5 -

London to Brighton ; Dieppe ; Dieppe to
Rouen; Rouen the Botanic Garden, the
Cemetery, the principal Improvements ;
Rouen to Paris; Paris, Gardens of the
Palais Royal, of the Tuileries, and at Mon-
ceaux; Villa of Baron Rothschild ; Bel-

. Ievue, near Sevres ; Belleville, at Meudon ;
the Chateau de Meudon - = -

Versailles ; Neuilly ;. St.Cloud ; Sceaux ;
Verriéres ; Belleville; Elysée Bourbon, and
Hotel of the English Ambassador; Nur-
series and Florists’ Gardens; Jardin des
Plantes ; Fontainebleau ; |Thomery; Pa-
lace of Fontainebleau ; Villa of Madame de
Pompadour ; Havre - - - 383

Notice of a Visit to Hampton Court, in Here-
fordshire - - - - 415

Notice of a Visit to Whitfield =

Notice of Bohemia Park, Sussex -

Additional Notes on the Progress of Garden-
ing in the United States - - - 146

575

191

287

Scientific.

The Principles of Gardening physiologically
considered ; —

I. On the Propagation of Plants. A. Pro-
pagation by seed, accompanied by the
Phenomena of Germination - o

I. On the Propagation of Plants— con-

- tinued. B. Propagation by Buds. 1. Buds
and their Metamorphoses - - 527. 595
An Experiment on Growing Plants in Earths
without Organic Matter - - = 602
On the Philosopy of Manures - - 335
Fuxther Observations on the Philosophy of
Manures - - - 2 -
Observations ,-> Liebig’s “ Organic Che-
mistry” : —-s5.1milation of Carbon ; On the
Origin of Humus; On the Assimilation of
Hydrogen; Origin and Assimilation of Ni-
trogen; Art of Culture; Interchanging o
Crops and Manure - - - - 97
Importance of Geology, as a Study for Gar-
deners - ne - - - 433
Importance of Natural History as a study for
Gardeners - - - - -
Importance to Gardeners of a Knowledge of
the Method of analysing Soils = - — ~ 489
Burning of Soils as a Means of improving
them - - - - : =

479

4,9.7G&

i Page
Experimental.

Remarks on the Application of Charcoal to
the Growth of Plants - - -
Theory of M. Edward Lucas’s Experiments
on the Effect of Charcoal on Vegetation : —
Absorption of Light, and Generation of
Heat; Absorption of Atmospheric Air ;
Decomposition of Charcoal, and Formation
of a nourishing Substance for Plants ; Com-
parative Chemical Examination of Charcoal
Dust; Antiseptic Power of Chareoal ; Li-
terature - - - - -
Continuation of the Experiments of the Ef-
fects of Charcoal on Vegetation, made in
the Royai Botanic Garden of Munich - 304
Further Results of the Experiments on the
Application of Charcoal, as a Mixture with
Earth, for the Cultivation of Plants in Pots 219
On increasing Plants by Cuttings, &c., by the
Use of Charcoal - - - - 152
On sowing Seeds in Snow = - - 302
On preserving Plants through the Winter, by
Means of the Temperature of Spring Water 1

The Weather.

On the comparative Temperature of different
Years, and its Influence on Vegetation - 147

Effects of the Winter, from December 1840 to
March 1841, on perennial Plants in the open
ANE - - - - - 486

Modes of Heating Plant Structures.

On the Application of White’s Patent Stove
to the Heating of Pits and other Plant
Structures - - - - oS
Dr. Arnott’s Stoves applied to the Heating of
Plant-houses - - = - - 4
On Mr. Corbett’s Mode of Heating by the Cir-
culation of Hot Water in open Gutters = 151
Mr. Glendinning’s Opinion of Mr. Corbett’s
Mode of Heating by Hot Water - - 57
A new System of Heating Plant Structures - 494
On Mr. Penn’s Mode of Warming and Ventil-
ating © - - - - 208

Destruction of Insects.

On the Utility of washing Garden Walls to
destroy Insects - = - - 535
On the Destruction of the Red Spider in Plant
Structures - - - = -
On destroying the White and Brown Scale
by the Application of Hot Water - - 255
Snails and Slugs considered with reference to
Horticulture - = - - - 346
On the Protection of Flowers in the Open
Ground, &c. from Snails and Slugs - 293
The Earth- Worm, considered with reference
to Horticulture - - - - 212
On the Hornet - - - - - 217

Garden Architecture.

Dimensions and Details for erecting various
Kinds of Plant Structures to be heated by
Hot Water or Smoke Flues, or by both
Modes combined ; Cherry-house; Peach.
house; Vinery; Propagating-pit for Tan-
ner’s Bark and a Flue; Propagating-pit,

A 2

without Tan, to be heated by a Smoke Flue
and Hot Water; Pit for fruiting Pine-ap-
ples ; Succession -pit for EEG Winter
Cucumber- -pit - - 308
Some Remarks on the Economising of Sur-
faces under Glass ; the Introduction of ar-
tificial Heat to Fruit Borders; and the
Attainment of Bottom as well as Surface
Heat from the same Heating Apparatus:
— The Chinese, or Dwarf, Plantain; Gra-
nadilla ; Chinese Guava ; Pine-apple ; Cu-
cumber or Melon; Vine; Forcing Straw-
berries; Forcing Shrubs. Illustrated by
Plans and Sections - - 49
A Substitute for Hand-glasses, and ; a more
economical Mode of using Glass in ORE
houses suggested - - 204
On different Modes of Glazing Plant Struc.
tures - - 606
Further Information respecting the flued
Walls at Erskine House - - - 256
Some Account of a Pit for preserving Ice, in
Use at Erskine House, Renfrewshire - 434
Description of a Mode of arranging Hempen
Lines for supporting Scarlet Runners, Con-

volvuluses, or other twining Plants - 211
Implements.
Notice of a ERT hoe in Use in Leicester-
shire - - - 311
Notice of Three new Garden Tools - 257
Notice of a Ladder HOR thinning Grapes in
Hothouses’ - + - - 210

LANDSCAPE-GARDENING.

On Gardening as an Art of Design and Taste 157
The Landscape-Gardening of F.. von Sckell
of Munich : —

I. General Observations on the Modern
Natural Style of Gardening, with some
Remarks on the Ancient Symmetrical Style 353

II. Selection of Natural Scenes suitable.for
the Adaptation of the Landscape-Gardener 411

III. On the Architectural Edifices which
are suitable for a Garden. IV. The Situation
Temples in Pleasure-Grounds. V. On the
different Kinds of Trees, Shrubs, and
Flowers, which were particularly dedicated
to the different Gods and Goddesses, and
which should surround their respective
Temples, as Part of their Attributes - 407

V. On the different Kinds of Trees,
Shrubs, and Flowers, which were particu-
larly dedicated to the different Gods and

! Goddesses, and which should surround their
respective Temples, as part of their Attri-
butes. — conténued. VI. Architectural De-
corations. VII. Bridges in Gardens. VIII.
The first Proceedings on the Spot which is
to form the Natural Garden. IX. On Stak.
ing out and Tracing on the Ground the
Forms and Outlines of the Natural Garden,
with reference to CENEAO, Effect, and
Beauty - 536. 603

Design for laying out a , Suburban Residence 350

A new Method of forming Living Arbours 312

ARBORICULTURE.

Report on the New Trees and Shrubs raised
in the Horticultural sere75 Garden in the
Year 1841 - - = 608
On the Culture of Timber Trees - - 508
On Mr. Gavin Cree’s System of Pruning
Forest Trees, containing an ‘Outline of his
Method - - - - 435
On Pruning Forest Trees - - - 440
On Pruning Forest Trees - - - 444
On Pruning Trees in General, - 555
Copy of a Letter addressed to Sir ‘Charles
Gordon, Secretary to the Highland and
Agricultural Society of Scotland, on Prun-
ing Trees - - = 458
On the Thinning of Forest Trees - - 550
Remarks on several Species of Confferz:, with
Reference to the Climate of North Britain 164
On Leycestéréa formosa, as an Undergrowth

CONTENTS.

for the Shelter and Food of CEI and asa

Sea-Breeze Plant = - 9
Arboricultural Notices = 855
Measurement, Age, &c,, of Trees at Blair

Dr ummond, Scotland - - 505
On the Incombustibility of the. Larch - 226

On the C¥tisus Adam¢, or Purple Laburnum 58

On the Propagation of the Rhododéndron = ~
dauricum, and other Species of the same
natural Family, by Cuttings

Notice of a simple sites of ae the Height
of Trees - -

FLORICULTURE.

Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural
Notices of the Kinds of Plants newly intro-
duced into British Gardens and Plantations,
or which have been originated in them 10.61.

167. 258. 324. 356. 556

The Flower Garden at Esholt Hall; its De-
sign, Culture, and Management = - - 610

List of Plants adapted for a Conservatory
Wall, with Remarks on some of the Species 239

Observations and Reflections on the Cnul-
cultivation of the Cacti - - - 510

On the Management of Cacti - - - 169
On bringing the Cacti raised from Seed
quicker into Flower - - 357

Catalogue of the Cacti in the Collection of the
Rev. Theodore Williams, at Hendon Vica-
rage, Middlesex = - 313

On the Culture of the splendid Lake Rose,

Neltimbium specidsum Willd. - - 513
On the Culture of Ixias and other Jridez in

the Island of Jersey - - 15
On the Culture of the Gladiolus cardinalis - 461
On the Propagation of Dahlias - - 416

Observations of the Propagation of the Dablia 516
Notice of a Petunia of extraordinary Dimen-
sions - - - = = C0)
HORTICULTURE.

Report on the New Fruits and Culinary Ve-
getables raised inthe Horticultural Society’s

Garden since the last Report in 1837 - 614
A Systematic Plan for a Gardener to “‘ serve

the Kitchen” = -
On Root-Pruning of Fruit Trees - - 615

On the Use of inclined Walls for EROS
finer Sorts of Fruits -

On the Cultivation of the Pinewapples as prac
tised in the Kitchen-garden of the Palace
of Versailles in the Year 1840 - 17

On the Use of the Species of Pisang (Misa
paradisiaca) and the Banana (Musa sapién-

- 369

tum) - - 490
On the Effects Of Water on the Growth and
Ripening of Melons - - 465
On the Culture of the Cucumber in Pits
heated by Hot Water = = 262
On the Destruction of Mice in Cucumber
Frames - - 26
On the Cultivation of the Grape Vine - Qi
On growing Three CxoDs of erePes in One
House = ae aris
On the Shriveling of Grapes - - - 170
On the Shriveling of Grapes - - 171
On the Shanking and Shriveling of Grapes 173
On the Shanking of Grapes. - - 262
On the Cultivation of the Fone in Pots, in
Pine-houses - - 321

On the Culture of the Peach in the open Air 63
Mode of CETEOSN the Green Fly on Peach
Trees -
An Account off some yemarkabl.) old Pear
Trees at Dunimarle, Culross, Perthshire - 464
On growing Strawberries for Forcing = 464
Description of a Mode in which Mushrooms
may be OT under the Paths of a Hot-
house - 207
Observations on the Gulture “of the Goose-
berry and Raspberry 2 = = 465
On the Hautbois Strawberry - - 266
On the Culture of the Conical-. fruited Scarlet :
Alpine Strawberry e 266
A Method of sowing Peas and Beans in Boxes
for Transplanting - 74
On the Culture and Forcing of Rhubarb - 174

CONTENTS. Vv

On Forcing Sea-kale - - - - 269
An accidental Discovery of an improved
Mode of Blanching Sea-kale and Rhubarb

with Peat Soil 75
Comparative Results from cultivating Nine
Sorts of Celery - 76

On the Culture Of the Early Horn Carrot = 27

BEE CULTURE,

Remarks on placing the Entrance to Bee-
hives - = - = = ao We

DOMESTIC ECONOMY.
On the Manufacture of Rose-water and
Attar, or Otto, of Roses, at Ghazeepore ~- 359

AGRICULTURE.

Notice on Festzca ovina L., Festuca rubra
L., and Brdmus praténsis” L., as Pasture
and Lawn Plants’ - - - - 467

REVIEWS.

GENERAL SUBJECT.

The Field, the Garden, and the Woodland.
Bya Lady = - - 326

Prait’s Flowers and their ‘Associations = 228

Transactions of the Pennsylvania Horticul-
tural Society - - - 176

Scientific.

A Selection from the Physiological and Hor-
ticultural Papers published in the Tyansac-
tions of the’ Royal and Horticultural Societies
by the late Thomas Andrew Knight, Esq. 327

Vegetable Physiology 327. 616

Rhind’s History of the Vegetable Kingdom,

228. 624

The Phytologist, a Botanical Journal - 624

Catalogues, &c.

Loudon’s First Additional Supplement to the
Encyclopedia of Plants - 369

Link, Klotzsch, and Otto’s Icones Plantarum
Rariorum - - 84. 369

Fowld’s, Young’s, “and Gregory’s NEEESIY
Catalogues’ - 33

Lucombe, Pince, and Co. *s Sale Catalogue of
Plants SLOT HE tothe Natural Oey Co-
niferz - 86

Carter’s Catalogue of Seeds for 1841 - 17%

Graham’s Catalogue of the Plants BAOTTINS in
Bombay and its Vicinity - So:

Riley’s Catalogue of Ferns” -

A Catalogue of Plants collected in the Neigh-
bourhood of Banbury. By CLOIEE CUNO,
E.R.S.,

A ‘Manual of the British Alge ; containing
Generic and Specific Descriptions of all the
known British Species of Sea-weeds, and of
Conferve, both Marine and Freshwater. By
the Honourable William Henry Harvey - 625

- 625

Botanical Notices.

DeCandolle’s isso NOE d’une Nouvelle Es-
péce de Figuier - 85
DeCandolle’s Huitiéme Notice: sur les Plantes
Rares cultivées dans le Jardin de Généve - 85
Germain’s Observations sur quelques Plantes
Critiques des Environs de Paris - - 177
Webb’s Notice sur le Pauléwnza = - 177
A Series of TES ue Labels for the Herba-
rium - - - = 229

LANDSCAPE-GARDENING.

A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of
Landscape-Gardening, adapted to North
America; with a View to the Improve-
ment of Country Residences. With Re-
marks on Rural Architecture. By A. J.
Downing - - - - 421. 472

ARBORICULTURE.

Die Coniferen nach Lambert, Loudon, und
anderin. Frey bearbeitet von Franz An-
toine. The Coniferz after Lambert, Lou-
don, and, others. Newly composed by F.
Antoine = - - - = 28. 624

- 176

| Model Mapping,

A History of British Forest Trees. By Pri-
deaux John Selby, F.R.S.E., F.L.S., &c. - 624
The Eastern Arboretum, or Rural Register of
all the remarkable Trees, Seats, Gardens,
&c., in the County oS Norrell. By James
Grigor - - 29. 270. 624

FLORICULTURE.

A Descriptive Catalogue of Bases. ay H.
Lane and Son - - 624

HORTICULTURE.

The Kitchen-Garden; extracted by permis-
sion from the British Almanack of the
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Know-
ledge for the Year 1837 - - - 625

Manning’s Book of Fruits or =

Catalogue Raisonné des Arbres Fruitiers, &e,

Rivers’s Hints on Root-Pruning, &c.'= -s-'= 625

Mills’s ‘Treatise on an improved Mode of cul-
tivating the Cucumber and Melon = 229

Ayres’s Treatise on the Cultivation of the

Cucumber in Pots, &c. - 327
Cucumber Culture. By John Duncan - 274
AGRICULTURE.

The Journal of the Royal Agricultural So-
ciety of England - 79. 625

The British Farmer’s Magazine for 1841 - 626

Three Lectures on Agriculture. By Dr.
Daubeny, F.R.S., M.R.S.A., &c. - - 270

The Farmer’s Encyclopedia, and Dictionary
of Rural Affairs. Illustrated by Wood En-
gravings of the best and most improved
Agricultural Implements, &c. Forming one
ofthe Series of Encyclopedias and Dictiona-
ries now in course of Publication. By
Cuthbert W. Johnson, Esq. - - 625

RURAL ARCHITECTURE.

Graphic Illustrations, with Historical and
Descriptive Accounts, of ‘Toddington, Glou-
cestershire, the Seat of Lord Sudely. By
John Britton, F.S.A. - - - 362. 418

Ricauti’s Rustic Architecture Bea

Illustrations and Descriptions of Kilpeck
Church, Herefordshire; with an Essay on
Eccelsiastical Designs. By G. R. Lewis - 627

Austin and Seeley’s Specimen Book of their
Artificial Stone MEATS New Road
London - - 370

as suggestive of a “general
and Economic System of Drainage and ir-
rigation, &c. By J. Bailey Denton - 626

Description and Use of an improved Level-
ling Stave. By T. Sopwith, F.G.S. - 627

Report of the Select Committee appointed to
inquire into the present State of the “ Na-
tional Monuments and Works of Art, &c.”? 627

THE WEATHER.

Leigh’s Hints for an Sey on nc Oleey
and Ombrology 87

White’s Theories of the Weather Prophets,
and the comparative emcees of their Pre-
dictions - cS - - 370

Vil CONTENTS.

The British Almanack, and the Companion
to the Almanack for 1841 = - - 384
The Farmer’s Almanacks and Calendar for a

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Seventh Annual Report of the Royal

The Entomologist. Conducted by Edward
Newman, F.L.S., Z.S., &c. - - - 626
The Journey-Book of England - - 628
A Developement of the Principles and Plan
-on which to establish Self-supporting Home
Colonies ; as a most secure and profitable
Investment for Capital, and an effectual
Means permanently to remove the Causes
of Ignorance, Poverty, and Crime; and

Cornwall. Polytechnic Society : - 177 most materially to benefit all Classes of So-
The Eighth Annual Report of the Royal ciety, by giving a right Application to the

Cornwall Polytechnic Society - - 626 now greatly misdirected Powers of the Hu-
Brande’s Dictionary of Science, Literature, man Faculties and of Physical and Moral

and Art - - - - 177. 626 Science. By Robert Owen . - 628
Transactions of the Society for the Encou-

ragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Com- LITERARY NOTICES

merce - - - - - 275 ‘
Lectures on Chemistry, including its Appli- The Guide tothe Conservatory. By Richard

cationin the Arts. By Henry M. Noad - 6263} Bainbridge - - c i 4

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

GENERAL NOTICES.

Historical and Statistical. — The Gardeners’ Book
Society of Croydon, 35; What censtitutes.a Gar-
dener, 629; Order Book, 629. -

Scientific. — The Theory of Excretions of Plants,
629; Effect of coloured Light, 629; Char-
coal Dust, 630; Sawdust mixed with Stable Ma-
nure, 630; Pounded Brickbats, 630; The
Guernsey Weeding Prong, 630; Germination of
Seeds, 519; Average Temperature at which
Seeds will germinate,.375; Respiration of Plants;
181 ; Sending Home Seeds from warm Climates,
562; Sending Home Seeds from foreign Coun-
tries, 630; The Oxygenation of Water, 631;
Suspended Vegetation, 631; Raising Plants from
Seed, 632; Root-pruning, 632; Acclimatising
Plants, 632; Neatness often the Cause of im-
poverishing the Soil, 632 ; The Scion will affect
the Quality, although not the Organization of
the Stock, 632; Propagation by Leaves, 633;
Budding, 633; Sending Cuttings by Letter, 83];
Objections to turning in Snow when digging or
ploughing, 377; Garden Culture of Exotics, 87 ;
Sawdust as Manure, 376; Striking from Leaves,
376; Root-Grafting, 377; Roadmaking, 282 ;
Paving Roads with India-rubber, 638.; Expe-
riments for the Destruction of Moss on Gravel
Walks, 281; Growth of Fig Branches without
Roots, 375.

Insects. — Insects on Plants, 427 ; To destroy Ca-

terpillars, 475 ; The Gooseberry Caterpillar, 521;

Caterpillars on Vines, 328; The Maggot in

Onions, 88 ; American Blight, 229 ; Recipes for

destroying Ants, 280; Wire- Worms, 475; Trap

for Woodlice, 281; Woodlice among Orchi-
dacez, 378; Earthworms, 329 ; Tobacco Paper,

634; Tobacco Water, 634; Spirit of Tar, 634;

Sulphurated Hydrogen Gas, 634; Stifling In-

sects, 634; Deterring Insects by Mud, 634.

Diseases. — Canker in Fruit Trees, 377.

Landscape-Gardening. — To destroy, Moss in
Lawns, 634.

Garden Structures, Implements, &c. — Heat -con-
sidered relatively to Plant Structures, 634;
Boiler Furnaces, 635; The Construction of Pipes
for circulating hot Water, 634; Laying Hot-
water Pipesin Troughs of Water, 635; Glazing

{ Hot-houses, 635; Old Putty softened, 635; A
Pit for wintering Plants, 635 ; Fruit-Room, 635 ;
Construction of a Fruit-Room, 636; Ventilation
of Plant Structures, 637; Tanner’s Bark Walks,
637; A Forcing-House which may be applied to
various Purposes, 563; Green’s Cucumber Pit,
981; Smoke Flues, closed Hot-water Pipes, and

, Water in open Gutters, as Modes of Heating,
377; An Ice-house under Rockwork, 563;
Tarred Canvass for Coverings, 280; Oil-Paper
Frames, 562; Pocock’s Asphalte Roofing, 280 ;
Receipts for preparing artificial Asphalte, 564 ;
Indian-Rubber Pavement, 87; Pince and Co’s
permanent Botanical and Horticultural Tally,
230; Garden Syringes, 35; The Wickerwork

Dahlia Protector, 377; The Potting-bench In-
strument, 563; New Besom for Garden Pur-
poses, 230 ; A Camera Lucida, well adapted for
Gardeners, 278 ; Ropes from metallic Wire, 87.

Arboriculture. — Botanic Garden Reports of new
Trees and Shrubs, 35; Economical Planting,
564; Vitality of the Genera Pyrus and Cra-
tz‘gus, 278; Propagating Coniferous Plants by
Cuttings, 638 ; Styinted Ash Trees, 638 ; Rabbits
and Gamekeepers,639 ; Autumn Planting, 639 ;
Certain Species of ‘European Pines, 639; Shrub-
beries, 641; Pruning and Lopping, 641 ;~ Cedrus
Deodara, 641; Araucaria imbricata, 641; Quér-
cus fastigiata and Q. Alba, 641; The Terms red
and white Oak, 641; The sweet Bay, 641; The
Savine, 641; Hh&s Cotinus, 641; Birches and
other Coppices, 641; Tree Guards, 641; Au-
tumnal Colouring of Quércus: and Rhus, 36;
American Oaks, 36; Preservation and Staining
of Wood, 178; Kyanised Timber, 279; Prepa-
ration of Timber, 374; Boucherie’s Mode of
preserving Timber ; 642; Boucherie’s Mode of
increasing the Elasticity of Wood, 643; Bur-
nett’s Mode of Preserving Timber, 643.

Floriculture.—Fastening down Plants, 643 ; Grow-
ing Annuals in Pots, 643; Budding Roses, 643;
Pruning Roses, 644 ; Propagation of Pinks, 644 ;
Culture of the Amaryllis, 644 ; Crinum capénse,
645; Roscdea purpurea, 645 ; The Marchioness
of Exeter’s Camellia, 645; Salvia patens, 645;
Abiutilon striatum, 645; Abutilon vitifolium, 645;
Fuchséa discolor, 645; Physianthus albicans,
645; O’xalis Acetosélla, 645.

Horticulture. — Canker in Fruit Trees, 645;
Vines, 645; Preservation of Grapes, 646; Mr.
Hayward’s ‘Manure for Grapes, 646; Keeping
Fruit, 6463; Raspberries, 646; Thinning Pears,
646; The Scale on Peach Trees, 646; Pre.

_ serving {Pears on the Trees, 646; Wild Crab,

. 646; Pears, 646; Keeping Apples and Pears
647; Package of Fruit, 647; Roots of Fruit
Trees, 647; The Spanish Filbert, 647; Goose-
berries, 647 ;§,Gooseberry Cuttings, 647; The
Club in the Cabbage Tribe, 647; Asparagus,
648; O’xalis Déppez, 648 ; Comfrey, 648; Vic-
toria Khubarb, 648; Myatt’s Pine Strawberry,
648; Fiuchsza falgens, 648; Cucumberand Melon
Culture, 35; Steaming Mushroom-houses, 328;
Covering Strawberry-beds with Netting, 229 ;

~ Preserving Currants on the Bushes till Christ-
amas, 564; Artificial Maturation of Figs, 37;
The Quince, 564.

Pommesie Heonorny: mer boiling Potatoes, 329;

urdling of Milk, 521; Aspergillus glaticus
Cheese Mould, 329. z re Sines Wa

Agriculture. — Trifolium incarnatum, 648 ; Agri-
culture, 281; Lime in Agriculture, 476; Ra-
vages of Worms at the Roots of Corn, 522;
brdmus praténsis and Festica U‘riz, 564.

The Weather. — On a Method of prognosticating
the probable Mean Temperature of the several
Winter Months from that of corresponding

CONTENTS.

Months in the preceding Summer, 180; Hoar-
frost, 374.

Education. — Amount of Instruction worthy of
the Title of Education, 88 ; Music, as a Branch
of Popular Education, 88; Necessity of Amuse-
ment, 89.

Miscellaneous. —The Use of Sulphate of Lime,
521; Disinfecting Night-Soil and Stable-Dung,
374; Nets dyed Blue, 378; ‘The Landscape-
Painter, 373; The Solar Ray, 562; Derange-
ment of the Spinal Column, 330.

FOREIGN NOTICES.

FRANCE.
New Herbaceous Peonies, 378.

GERMANY.

Culture of Hepatica triloba, 522; Notes of a Bo-
tanical Tour, Edward Otto, 379; Extracts from
the Epistolary Correspondence of Edward Otto,
during his Voyage to Cuba, and his Abode
there, 523, 549; Storm at Louisaine, near Des-
sau, 648.

ITALY. ;

Gardening in Lombardy, Roses, Method of mul-
tiplying Camellias, Giuseppe Manetti, 565 ; Sa-
lisburéa adiantifdlia, and other Matters, G.
Manetti, 182.

Russia.

Climate and Culture of Cucumbers in Courland,.
90; Winter of 1840-41, 525.

Asta Minor.
Chips of Firewood for giving Light, 378.
AFRICA.
on ane Malaria of the Western Coast of Africa,
: InpIA.

Education in Travatcore, 379; The Roses of
Ghazeepore, 379.

NortH AMERICA.

Philadelphia Improvemetts, 428; American ex-
ploring Squadron, £569; Jussieta grandiflora,
91; Sweet and Sour Apple, 476; Maple Sugar,
379 ; New Cherry Tree from the far West, 330;
To secure good Fruit, 476; Mammoth Cabbage,
330; Supposed new Cherty, 569; Sourmilier
Potato, 331; Live Oak, 476; Addntus glandu-
ldsa, 569; Maclura aurattiaca, 569; New
Edition of Michaux’s Sylva, John Torrey, 569.

SourH AMERICA.
Rio Janeiro, Dr. I.. F. Lippold, 27,

DOMESTIC NOTICES.
ENGLAND.

Public Park in the East of London, 331; Ken-
sington Gardens, 331; Parks and Pleasure-
Grounds, 282; Presentation, by the Bath Royal
Horticulturaland Botanical Society, of a Cup
to Mr. Baxter, 283; New or rare Plants lately
raised in the Botanic Garden, Liverpool, Henry
Shepherd. 38 ; The Exhibition at the Horticul-
tural Society’s Gardens, 331; Churchyards at
Lancaster, D. Saul, 230; Margins of the great
Lines of Railway, 332; The Bokhara Clover,
R. Forest, 231; The Effect of Under-draining,
477, Pinus Lambertéa@na, 429; The Green-
houses in the Wakefield Nursery, 570; The
Great American Aloe, 525; Brugmansza bicolor,
W. H. B., 477; Céreus Northumberlandza and
Cypérus longus, A. B. Lambert, 91; Cnicus
tuberdsus, 92; Bad Effect of growing Peaches
and Grapes in the same House, J. Nash, 571;
Weight of Queen Pines cut at Presswold in
1840, W. Brown, 231; Immense Mushroom,
526; The Gigantic Flax, 184; Cotton Plant,
88; Jelly from the Berries of /ibes. san-
guineum, 231; Geese destroyed by eating
Monk’s-hood, 651; Instinct of Pigeons, 652;
Habit of the Virginian Nightingale, 652; Effects
of the Winter of 1837-8, W. Godsall, 571. .

ScoTLAND.

Glasgow Botanic Garden, 231 ; General Cemetery
near Edinburgh, 332; The “ King’s Knote”’ at
Stirling, 652; The Douglas Monument, 477;
Sir John Robison’s Plant Case, 353; White’s
Patent Heating Apparatus, 332 ; Improvements
in Cottage Buildings and Cottage Gardens,
572; Timber Bridges, 38; Names of African
Plants, 231; Rhododéndron anthopdgon, 652;
Agricultural Museum at Glasgow, 652.

IRELAND.

Bequest of Books to the Botanic Garden, Glas-
nevin, 284; Pinus pumilio, 184.

RETROSPECTIVE CRITICISM.

The Derby Arboretum, 381; Chatsworth, Alton
Towers, and Trentham, 40; The Conservative
Wall at Chatsworth, 45; The Glazing of the
Chatsworth Conservatory, 45 ; Chatsworth Con-
servatory, 92; The Pleasure Grounds at Theo-
balds, 92; The Monument to the Memory of
Mr. Douglas, 184; Burning of Soils, as a Means
of Improving them,’478 ; Transmission of Cut-
tings by Post, 237; Rooting Cuttings in Charcoal,
and rooting Seeds in Snow, 653 ; Semicylindrical
Draining-Tiles, 44; Architectural Objects in
Gardens, 235; Mr. Niven’s Stove for various
Purposes, 234. 334. 429. 478; Mr. Forsyth’s
Plant Structures, 285; Mr. Penn’s Mode of
heating Hothouses, 42; Mr. Penn’s Mode of
Heating, as contrasted with other Modes, 43;
Mr. Penn’s Practice in Heating, &c., 231; Mr.
Penn’s Mode of heating and ventilating Hot-
houses, 232; Mr. Penn’s Mode of Heating and
Ventilating, 285 ; Mr. Penn’s Mode of Heating,
185; Mr. Penn’s Mode of Heating at Chats-
worth, 234. 333; Mr. Rogers’s Conical Boiler,
43; On the Natural Succession of Forest Trees
in the United States, ,93; American Button
Wood, or Plane Tree, 93; Quércus virens,
Phéllos, and pubéscens, and U’Imus effisa, 93 ;
Calling of the Queen Bee, 94; Plants adapted
for a Conservative Wall, 334. 382; Propagation
of the Dahlia, 573; Daphne Cnedrum, and D.
Dauphiné, 654; The Orange Groves of East
Florida, 93; Rust on Vines, 46; Shriveling and
Shrinking of Grapes, 45; Shriveling of Grapes,
235. 334; Mr. Mackenzie’s Mode of cultivating
the Gooseberry and Currant, 573; Recent
Urine of Sheep, 572; Comparative Temperature
of different Years, 235. 284.

QUERIES AND ANSWERS.

Mr. Parkyns, the Author of ‘‘ Monastic Re-
mains, &c., 654; To protect Forest Trees from
the Ravages of Hares and Rabbits, 96; Pre-
venting Hares and Rabbits from injuring the
Bark of Trees, 237. 286; To prevent the Ra-
vages of Hares and Rabbits on Forest Trees,
237; Propagating the Mistletoe, 47 ; White
Scale, Brown Scale, Woodlice, Singing-Birds,
185; The small Stag-Beetle, 186; The Onion
Maggot, 185; Preventive against the Depreda-
dations of Snails on Wall-Fruit, 574; Felling
Resinous Trees, 237; The best Plan for manag-
ing an old Orchard, 574; Musa Cavendishz?,
334; Musa Cavendishzz as a substitute for
Pines, 430; Painting Vines with Clay, 237 ;
The Curl in the Leaves of Vines, 96; Curling
of Vine Leaves, 48; The Curl in Vine Leaves,
48; Shanking of Grapes, 47; Shanking and
premature Shriveling of Grapes, 47; Oak Span-
gles, 186.

The. West London Gardeners’ Association for

—,

mutual . Instruction: — Forcing and general
Cultivation of the Strawberry - - 39
BIOGRAPHY.

Mr. William Beattie, F.H.S., 237; Daniel Ellis,
Ksq., F.R.S.E., &c., 188.; Francis Bauer, Esq.,
186; John Cowham Parker, Esq., W.S., 190.

OBITUARY,

M. Augustus Pyramus DeCandolle, 654 ; Prince
Butera, 654; Lord Monson, 593,

A 4

Vill LIST OF ENGRAVINGS,

LIST OF ENGRAVINGS.

No. DIAGRAMS. Page
20, 21. Illustrative of a Method of training

the Peach Tree 2 - 68, 69
93. Section of a Projecting Kerb Stone - 195
24. Elevation of the Obelisk of Luxor - 198

31, 32. View and Section illustrative of a
Method of supporting Climbing Plants 211

37. Wlustrative of a Method of making a Gal-
vanic Plant Protector - e - 296
51. Part of a Disbarked Lime Tree = - 401

GARDEN STRUCTURES.

1—3. Plan, Section, and Isometrical View
of a Frame for BSS TIE Plants
through the Winter 2,

4—12. Plans, Sections, and Elevations of

Houses and Pits, showing White’s

Mode of Heating them - 3-7
138—17. Plan, Sections, and Elevation of a

Forcing-House - 50—54
18, 19. Plan and Section of a Pit to be heated

by Corbett’s System - - 57, 58

25—27. Perspective View, Plan, and Eleva-
tion of a Hand-Box, as a substitute for
Hand-Glasses-

45,46. Chairs adapted for Public Gardens

288. 298

52. Section of a Hotbed on Forsyth’s System 494

INSTRUMENTS, IMPLEMENTS, UTEN-

SILS, AND MACHINES.
No.

thinning Grapes in Hothouses -

34, Cap for covering the Holes in the Bottoms

P.
28-30. Views and Section of a Ladder for

of Pots - - 2 = 217

se A Galvanic Plant Protector 2 - 224
. Galvanic Protector for Fruit ae on

Walls 5 - 224
38, 39. Tallies for Trees and Shrubs c, = 230
40. A Drill Rake - = - - 257
41. A Drill Hoe - - - - 258
42. A Sickle Hoe ee = L - 258
43. Double Dutch Hoe - - 258
58. The Guernsey Weeding Prong - - 630
44. Camera lucida for Gardeners - - 279

47, 48. Section and Views Ort a New Draw

oe - . - 311

49. Measuring Staff ~ - - - 350

PLANS OF GARDENS AND COUNTRY |
RESIDENCES.

50. Design for a Suburban Residence - 051
53—57. Esholt Hall - - - 612, 613
INSECTS.

22. Dércus parallelipipedus /- - - 186
33. Eggs of the Earth Worm - - - 215

{

LIST OF NEW AND RARE PLANTS
FIGURED In tHE BOTANICAL PERIODICALS roa THE YEAR 1841.

Ranunculacee.
ANEMONE
montana ¥ Switzerland - - 557
DELPHI’ NIUM
decdrum Y New California - - il
Berberidez.
Bérberis
Coriaria 32 Nepal < = - 557
Papaveracea.
PApAVER
commutatum © _ Siberia - - 167
Capparidacee.
Iso’MERIS
arborea S¢ _J} California - = b U
Violaridcee.
SCHWEIGGE RIA
paucifldra [7] Brazil - - 557
Pittosporacee.
MariA’NTHUS

certleo-punctatus _@ _J S. River - 557

Malvacee.
HiBi’scus
Telfairce w \_) Mauritius - ~ 259
Wraye %\_| SwanRiver - - il
Ma’1iva
lateritia 2 A Buenos Ayres - 61
SUDA (ABUYTILON)
Bedfordiana ¢ A Brazil - - 558
Geranidacea.
GERANIUM
rubifolium yg A Himalayas - 1
Tropeéolicee.
TROP. OLUM

Moritzéanwm _A| Cumana 2 « 61

Bdsaminee.
IMPA‘TIENS
candida (QJ) Aimalayas 5
rdsea ©] Himalayas - -
Oxalidee.
O’XALIS

lasiandra yo A Mexico -

Rutacee.

Boro‘nra
triphylla »# __|] New Holland

Celastrinee.
EL#0DE’NDRON
capénse § __] Cape of Good Hope

Leguminose.
Bossim\A

tenuicatilis <x ~_J Van Diemen’s L.

disticha . ~._} Swan River -
CALLI/STACHYS

linearis .% |_] Swan River 5

longifolia 3 __] Swan River -
CHORO’/ZEMA

spectabile $ _] Swan River -
CLiA/NTHUS

carneus $ ,_| Philip’s Island -
DAUBENTO NIA
. Tripetéana 8 \_]| Buenos Ayres
INDIGO’ FERA

stipularis © |_| South Africa
Da’THYRUS

tomentdsus A Buaenos Ayres
MirBE‘LTA

floribinda w% |_] Swan River -
Zi'CHYA

pannodsa $ __] Swan River -

" . 558

- il

LIST OF NEW AND RARE PLANTS FIGURED IN 1840.

Rosaceae.
POTENTI’LLA
insignis y A Nepal - -
SPIRE‘A
kamtchatica var. himalénsis yY A
Japeees Onagracee.
Fu/cusia_ -
corymbifidra 32 __| Peru -
A Melastomacee.
Marce ‘tra ge
decussata « (-) Brazil -
Crassulacea.
ECHEVE RIA
lurida Aj Mexico - -
Stylidee.
STYLI/DIUM
ciliatum y LA) Swan River -
Drummondz ¥ _A| Swan River
Rubiicee.
POSOQUE\RIA
versicolor s*[_] Cuba - =
Composite.
Brachy’/coMe

Zberidifdlia © Swan River -
CALE/NDULA

Astérias © North of Europe -
HELICHRYSUM

niveum y A SwanRiver -

spectabile © | Swan River
Monoo‘Pia

major © California - =
_ Popo’Lepis

aristata © | Swan River -
STEVIA

trachelidides ye Mexico =
TitHO’NIA

ovata © Mexico - -

Goodenovie.

EU THALES

macrophylla Yy Aj Port Augusta
LECHENAU/LTIA
biloba “ ~_] New Holland ~-

Gesneriacee.
GLoxI/NIA i 4
rubra ¢ I Rio Janeiro 5

Ericdcea.
PERNE/TTYA
angustifolia 3% Valdivia =

Apocynec.

TABERNEMONTA NA
dichétoma ¢ ({) Ceylon -

Asclepiadacez.
Puysia/NTHUS
auricomus $ [-] Brazil -
STEPHANO‘TIS

floribinda _— [{) Madagascar -

Bignoniacez.

BIGNO‘NIA
speciosa $ CL] - = a
CoO‘LEA
floribinda % (2) Madagascar
Cobaeacee.
Cosa:a
stipularis § _Al - s
Pedalinee.
Marty’/NIA
frdgrans |] Mexico - -
Convoluulacee.
Tpom@‘a

batatoides + [-) Mexico -
ficifolia % A) Buenos Ayres °-
tyrianthina % ._}] California -

- 325

560

560
260

- 325

Boraginee.
ANCHU’SA
petiolata _A] Nepal - =
CYNOGLO’ssUM
glochidiatum ©) India -

Solandcee.
GRABOW’SKIA
duplicata _¢(2) Peru - -
SOLA‘NUM
jasminoides § \_| South America
macranthérum — ._]| Mexico
vestitum 3 (-) Mexico =

Scrophularinea.

ANGELO\NIA

cornigera [©] Brazil - -
PaULow’Nr4a

imperialis 4 Japan - -

Labiite.
GARDOQUI‘4

betonicdides YY A Mexico -
ORTHOSI‘PHON

incirvus [QQ] Silhet . -
SA’LVIA

hians 3% A Cashmere -

régla % _ | Mexico .- -

tubifera # ,_) Mexico -
ScUTELLA‘RIA

japonica Yy Japan - -

Verbenacee.

sé ,_] C.G, H. -

CHAsco‘NUM
cuneifolium

Acanthicee.
STROBILA’ NTHES
scabra 32 (_) India - -
sessilis ye ZA) India - -

Plumbaginacee.
ARME‘RIA
fasciculata ye A South of Europe

Thymele’e.
DX PHNE
japonica w __]|. Japan = -
PIMELE‘A
nana wt_f Swan River -
spectabilis 3 __] Swan River

Orchidaceae.
ANGRA\CUM

bilobum € Cape Coast -

glabrifolium ¢ Isle of Bourbon
Bra/ssza

Lawrencéina € Z) Brazil -
BuRLINGTO'NIA

rigida € A) - 2 5
CaTasE’TUM

tralla € A) South America -
Cuy'‘sis

bractéscens € (A) Mexico -
C@L0/GYNE

Cumingz € I = =
CymsBy DIUM

pubéscens ¢ [A] Sincapore ~-
DENDROBIUM

discolor €& (A) Java - 5

macrophyllum ¢€ [A] Manilla
EPIDE/ NDRUM

Grahami £€ [Z\)_ Mexico =

calocheilum € [A] Guatemala
EIA :

armeniaca € [A] Philippine Isles
GALEA’NDRA

Devoniana € (ZX South America

GonGo‘RA

bufonia vy A) Brazil - =
LE‘L1A

acuminata € ZX) Mexico =
ODONTOGLO/sSUM

grande € (A) Guatemala =
pulchéllum € (AQ) Guatemala

1
ion
lor)
=

1
a)
&
XQ

1
ry
>

1
[Sa]
Dp
_

x LIST OF PLANTS MENTIONED

OncYDIUM : Herma/nTHus
macranthérum ¥ [A] Mexico - 63 tenuifldrus var.mozambicus ¥ [ZA] M. 326
monéceras & (Z)_ Rio Janeiro - 562 | IsmMe‘NzE
Wraye ¥ [A] Mexico - - 168 viréscens % _] Cusco - - - 168
Sopra ‘tra SPREKE ‘LIA
séssilis ¢ (J Peru - - - 261 cybister ¥ [A] Bolivia - - - 326
glaica % _AJ Mexico - - - 261
Amaryllidacee. Cyrtandracee.
Boma‘rEA AESCHYNA’NTHUS ; ue
simplex _ A Cusco - z - 261 maculatus € (_] India - - 325
CALLITHAU/MA ae
viridiflorum % J Peru yoo ihe can Lilidcee. |
tifolium Peru - - 261 10) A
Canasta ee i laxiflbra y 1A) Swan River - - 168
coccinea % ~-_| Cordillera = - 261 3c
trichroma % L_] Andes - - 261 Bromeliacee.
ELISE NA PUYA i :
longipétala ¥ ) Lima 5 = 326 heterophylla y [ZX] Mexico - <a

LIST OF PLANTS

MENTIONED OR TREATED OF IN THE PRESENT VOLUME.

The word “‘ cut.” occurring after any species or variety indicates that there is an article on its

culture.
A List of Ixias and other Jridex cultivated Catalogue of the C4cti in the Collection of
by Bernard Saunders, Nurseryman, Jersey 16 the Rev. Theodore Williams -
A List of Plants struck from Cuttings in A List of Plants in the Jardin des Plantes at
Charcoal - - - 155. 305 Paris
A List of Plants adapted for a pone atc A List of the Plants introduced into ‘Lom-
Wall - - - - - 239 bardy in 1840 - - - - - 565
Abies balsamea - - -"182 | Anemdne eink = - 167 ) Boronia Zedifdlia - - - 558
communis - - 385. 507 Hepatica = - - 522 triphylla - - - 558
mucronita - - 386 montana - - - 557 | Bossiz*a cinérea - - 558
Douglasz? - - - 166 Pulsatilla - - - 557 disticha - - - 558
excélsa = = - - 29 | Angelonia cornigera - - 62 tenuicatlis - - - 558
gigantéa - - - 182 ciliata - - - - 62} BrachY¥come dberidifolia - 167
monocatilon - = - - 182 | Angre*cum bilobum °- - 561 | Brassia Lawrencidna - = 261
Picea - - - - 507 glabrifodlium - - - 14) Bromus praténsis 199. 297. 299.
Abiitilon pictum - - - 558 | Anthoxanthum odoratum - 231 467. 564
striatum c - - 11} Anthyllis Vulneraria - - 469 | Brugmansza bicolor - - 477
vitifolium = - - - 645 | Antirrhmum majus - -401 | Binium flexudsum= - - 26
Acacia Cunningham - - 302 | A’porum sinuatum - - 63] Burlingtonéa rigida = - 562
platyptera = 3 - 62} Aquilégia glandulosa var. Baxus sempervirens - - 536
subcertlea « - - 302 discolor - - - - 324 | Cactus alata - - - 358
Acanthus mollis - - - 537 | Araucaria excélsa - - 3 flagellifé6rmis - - 359
Acer coriaceum - - - 386 imbricata - = - 385 grandifldra - = - 359
créticum - - 386. 391 | d’rbutus Andrachne - - 352 Optntia - - - 122
Jobatum - - - 386 | Arctostaphylos nitida - - 609 speciosa - - - 358
monspessulanum = - 389 | Aréca montana - = ob truncata c - - 359
latifolium - - 386 | Ariocarpus retisus - - 510 | Caladium bicolor - - 220
obtusatum - - - 389 | Arméria fasciculata - - 260 discolor - - - 220
O’palus = - = - 386 | A‘rum maculatum = - - 490 hematostigmum - - 220
platanoides - = - 389 | Arundina bambusefolia - 63 pictum - - - - 220
Psetdo-Platanus = - 506 | Araindo Phragmites - - 516 pee’cile - - - - 220
rotundifolium - - 386 | Asclépias carndsa - = 223 spléndens - - - 220
tritidum - - - 586 | Aspergillus glaicus - - 329 vers{color - - - 220)
Achilléa Millefolium - - 469 | Babiana plicata - - - 488 | Calectasia cyanea - - 10
Aconitum japonicum - - 259 | Bejaria glaGca - = - 380 | Caléndula Astérias - 10.13
variegatum - - - 401 Zedifolia = - - 380 | Callistachys linearis - - 558
Acrétriche depréssa_- 85 | Begonza Drégz « - = 325 longifolia = - - - 259
Adiantum: Capillus Véneris 538 | Bérberzs aristata - - - 557 | CallistOma sinénse-— - - 401
féschynauthus maculatus - 325 asiatica - = = - 557 | Callithatima angustifolium 261
Agave americana - - 526 Coriaria- - = - 557 viridiflorum - = ~ 261
Atlantus glandulosa - - 569 dulcis - - - - 352 | Caméllia japénica’ var. Al-
Allium Pérrum - - - 538 empetrifolia - = - 384 | _bért - - 259
A’lnus cordata_- - - 385 floribinda - - - 557 | Campanula Médium - - 401
communis - - - 385 | Béssera élegans - - - 38 | Campylanthéra élegans - 557
glutindsa - - - 503 | Betula Alba - - - 504. 507 | Canna indica = - - 86
subcordata = - - 385 pendula - - 504 | Carex Mairiz - - - 177
Alsine sagittdlis - - 480 | Bigndnia capreolata - 334, 382 | Carpinus viminea - - 608
Alstroeméréa acutifdlia var. radicans - - - 380 | Carthamus tinctodrius - - 537
punctata - - - ~~ 396 speciosa - - 560 | Cassia marilandica - — - 488
Alyssum saxAatile - - 401 | Bolboph#llum fAavidum - 14} Castanea vésca_ - - 505. 507
Amygdalus comminis - - 505 sordidum - - 14) Catasttum barbatum var.
incdna = - 352. 386 | Bomarea acutifolia - 326 proboscideuin = - - 63
Anchusa petiolata. - - 260 simplex- -- = = 261 calldsum = = = 63

-OR TREATED OF IN THE PRESENT VOLUME. ~ XL

Ca.cornitum = : 63-
lanciferum - - 63
laminatum var. ebur-

neum = - - 63
trilla - - - = 357

Ceanothus aztreus) - - 352
velutinus - - - 609

Cédrus Deodara - - 165. 273
Libani - - - 504

Cérasus Mahdleb - - = 402. 569
Padus - - c - 402
vulgaris 2 - - 505

Ceratophyllum demérsum = 515

Céreus Ackermannz - = 512
articulatus - - - 512
chilénsis 5 - - 512
cinerascens - - - 512
coccineus - - - 512
flagriférmis - - 512
hexagonus - = - 169
Mallisonz - oS - 512
Martidnus - - - 512
Northumberlandza - 91
ovatus - 5 - = 512
pentalophus - - - 512
Schranki - S - 51z
Smithzz : - - 512
specios{ssimus - - 512

Chasconum cuneifolium - 14

Chelone barbata - - 260

Chimenanthus fragrans - 352

Chor6ozema spectabile - 558

Chysis bractéscens - = 261

Cfstus ladaniferus = - 572

Clarkéa pulchélla - = 288

Clématis grata - = - 86

Clianthus carneus - 62. 559

Cnicus tuberdsus - - 92

Coboe‘a scandens - - 10
stipularis - - - 325

Cobturgia coccinea - - 261
trichroma - - - 261

Coelégyne cristata - - 562
Cumingze - - - 325
trinérvis - 5 - 325

Cdlea floribtiinda - - 260

Comocladia dlicifolia - - 380

ConyOlvulus fiéridus - = 18}
pentanthus _- - - 13
scoparius = - - 560

Cornus capitata - - - 572
mascula - - - 505

Coron{lla varia - - - 469

Cotoneaster bacillaris - 608
microphylla - - 334, 382
rotundifolia - - 334. 382

Crate‘gus apiifolia - ~- 391
cordata - = - 391
mexicana - - 33. 352

Crate*va Roxbirgiz - - 86

Crinum capénse - = 645

Crocus annulatus Adamicus 325
minimus var. - - 325
lagenzflorus var. lacteus

lutéscens - - = 325

Crotalaria purpurea - - 303

Cunninghamra lanceolata - 184.

i 386
Cupréssus dfsticha - - 380
glaica - - - 86
sempervirens - - 503
Cuscuta epilinum = - 84
Cydonia vulgaris = - 505
sinénsis - - 352
Cycndches Loddigésié var.
leucochilus” - - - 261
Cymbidium pubéscens - 561

Cynogléssum glochidiatum - 260

Cyperus fiscus - - - 480)
léngus - - - - 91
Cyrtochilum maculatum
var. ecornutum _- - 14
Cytisus Adamz - - 59
Alschingerz - - 183
Labirnum - - 09. 183
purpureus = - - 59
Weldenz * > 331

Daphne Dauphinzg - - 572
japénica - - 560
Dammara australis "- - 182
Datura alba - - - 86
férox - - 86
Daubentodnia Tripetiana - 259
Delphinium decdrum - ll
Dendrobium aciculare - 14
calcaratum - - - 14
discolor = - - 562
geméllum - - - 14
macrophyllum - - 562
moschatum - - - 14
Deittzia staminea - 38
Dianthus barbatus - - 401
Dodartéa orientalis - - 632
Doryanthes excélsa - = 221
Draba pre‘cox = - - 481
Echevéria lurida - - 62
Echinocactus turbiniférmis 510

Eliséna longipétala - -

Elzodeéndron capénse - il
£/phedra monostachya - 385
Epidéndrum altissimum - 561
calocheilum - - - 5601
Candéllez - - - 85
ciliare - - - - 14
Grahamz ~ - - 561
viscidum - - 14
Epimédium macrénthum - 488
Masschidnum - - 488
violaceum - - 488
Epiphyllum truncatum var.
violaceum - - - 325
E‘ria armeniaca - - - 561
clavicatlis - - - 15
nutans - a é a te
velutina - - - 15
Erica australis - - 334. 382
Irbyana - = - 560
Jackson - - - 560
mediterranea - - 572
retéorta - . ~ - 560

Tétralix var. Mackaidna 260

Euénymus crenatus - - 608
Euphorbia fastudsa_ - - 221

falgens - - = 221

helioscopia - - - 469
Eutérpe montana - ~ 357
kuthales macrophylla - 62
Fagus sylvatica - 502. 506

atro-rubens

Férula communis 537
tingitana- 485
Festica ovina 401. 467
rubra - 467
tenuifdlia 469

‘at -

Ficus Carica 505
coriacea 85
elastica 168

Fragaria elatior 229
moschata - 229

Fr&xinus excélsior
Fucus natans -
Fuchsia discolor -
filgens -
Galeandra Devoniana
Gardoquia betonicoides
Hookéri# == =
Gaultherza odorata -
Gerdnium rubifolium
Gésnera atrosanguinea
bulbdsa = =

s
foonutfotonbdbopoeoooo GO oO oto a 8

< isa)

Gladiolus cardinalis - 461
Glossarrhen pauciflérus 557
Gloxinza rubra - - 62
Gnaphalium Stoe‘chas 537

Gonatanthus sarmentdsus - 369

Gongora bufodnia = - 63

tilva var. vitellina - 63
Grabow’skza duplicata - 138
Grobya galeata - - 5

Gymnogramma macrophylla 221

Hemanthustenuiflorus var.
mozambicus - - - 326
Héchtza stenopétala - ~- 221

Hédera Hélix - . - 536
Hed¥sarum alpinum - - 259

sibiricum - - 259
Heléniuwm Douglassiz - 10. 13
Helichrysum niveum = 259

spectabile - - - 560
Hepatica triloba- - ~- 522
Hésperis matronalis - - 401
Hemerocallis flava - - 401

Herbértia puleeea var,

cerilea - : - 261
Hibiscus Rosa sinénsis - 86
syriacus = ° - 401
Telfairie - - - 259
Wraye = - 10.11
Hoteia japénica - - - 488
Huntléya violacea - - 168
Hyacinthus orientalis - 537
Hyoscyamus niger - - 538
Hydrangea horténsis - 222
Ibéris umbellata alba - 401
violacea - - 401
Mex Aquifdlium - 507
specidsa - - - 331
Ilicium floridanum ~- 334. 382
Impatiens candida - 10, 11. 259
rosea - - 61. 324
Indig6fera stipularis - 10, 11
Ipomee‘a batatoides = - 62. 560
ficifolia - - «13.260
tyrianthina - - 325
Tsatis tinctoria - - = 469
Isméne viréscens - - 168
Isémeris arborea - - il
JaquemoOntia pentantha - 13
Jasminum revolutum - - 572
Jatropha Manihot - = 491
Juglans nigra - - - 385
régia ss - - 271. 385. 505
Juniperus communis - 538
Sabina = - - 536
Jussieta grandiflora - - 91
Justicia Adhatoda - - 269
Kérvia japénica - - oot: 382
Larix communis - 506
péndula Godsallz - 182
europe a - - 164.§503
Lelia acuminata - - 325
Lasiopétalum /edifolium - 558
Lathyrus tomentdsus - - 167
Larus nobilis - 352. 503
Lechenatltéa biloba - - 560
formdsa - - 400. 560
Leycestérza formdsa - - 9
Tigistrum vestitum - - 609
Lilium candidum - - 536

speciosum var. 4lbum - 562

Limdnia Lauredla - - 608
Linum altissimum = - - 184

usitatissimum - - 537
Liparis spathulata - - 14
Lobélia discolor - - 84
Lolium praténse - - 470
Lonicera flexudsa - - 572
Lopéziéa miniata - - 38

Lophospérmum erubéscens

yar. spectabile - - 325
Lychnis talgens - - 298
Lycium obovatum = - - 38

Lycopodium denticulatum - 393

Macleaya cordata = - 488
Maclura aurantiaca - « 569
Magnodlza acuminata - - 352
auriculata - - = 352
conspicua- - = 352
grandiflora -~ - 352. 416
macrophylla - - 352
purpurea - - - 352
Soulangeana - - 352
tripétala - - 352. 572
Mahonia Aquifolium - - 334
Malva fragrans - - - 32h
lateritia - ce - 61
odorata - 324
Mammillaria Humbélatii ~ 510
Parkinsoniz - - 510
prolifera ~<- - - 511

M. Schlechtend4lz - = 510
sfmplex ~| = = Ol
uncindta - - - 302

Marcétia decussata - - 357

Marianthus cartleo-punc-

tatus - - = 99
Martynia fragrans - 10. 13. 62
Matricaria Maudéana - 298
Maxillaria Déppec - - 85

macrophylla - - 14
Medicago falcata - 469
Melocactus communis - 512

Menzits%a empetrifolia = 13
Mespilus germanica_ - - 356
Michatxia campannloides - 488

leevigata - - 488
Micréstylis histionantha - 84
Mirbéléa floribunda - - 559

specidsa ~ ao 6 ae)
Monachanthus discolor var.
Bushnanz - - -
Monoldpia major - 10.13
Morus alba - = - - 505
Musa Cavendishiz 50. 201.334.
430
paradisiaca - = - 490
sapiéntum = - S ~ 490
supérba - ° - - 168
Muscari comdsum - - 469
Myosotis paltistris - - 537
Myrtus communis - - 503
Narcissus poéticus - - 537
Nelimbium specidsum 513. 537
Nigélla arvénsis - - - 534
damascéna_ - - - 534
hispanica “ 3S - 534
sativa - c - 534
Notylea sagitffera - - 369
Nuttalléa digitata - - 488
malvefolia - ° - 488
Nymphe‘a alba - - - 514
lutea - = - 514
Obeliscaria Drumméndé - 168
Odontogloéssum bictonénse- 14
Ehrenbérgii - - - 369
grande . co - = 261
pulchéllum - - - 561
@nuothéra fruticosa var. {n-
dica - - - ° - 167
O‘lea europe‘a - - - 505
Olinza capensis - - 84
Oncidium carthaginénse - 84
macranthérum = - - 63
macrochilum - - 14
monoceras - - - 562
pelicdnum - 5 - 14
reflexum - 2 - 14
Wentworthianwmn - 14
Wraye - - 168
Ononordern Acanthium - 469
Optntia cylindracea - - 513
decfpiens - - - 513
excuviata - - - 513
hoérrida - - - 380
imbricata -<- - - 513
Stapélia - - - 513
tinica - - - 513
vulgaris - - - 359
Origanum Majorana - - 536
Orthosiphon incirvus - 63
O’xalis Acetosélla - - 645
decaphylla_ - - - 558
truticdsa 2 - - 558
Hernandész - - 558
lasiandra - - - 558
Ottonis - - - 84
Pxodnia Mottan - - 488. 572
officinalis = - 401. 534
speciosa striata - 378
anemoneflora stri-
ata - - - 378
élegans - - - 378
litea variegata - 378
pulchérrima - - 378
Victorie Modeste - 378
Pancratium ringens - - 396
Papaver commutatum a AKsy/

P.somniferum -
Parolinia ornata
Passiflora coerulea
racemosa -
quadrangularis
Paulow’nia imperialis
Pentstémon barbatus -

Peristylus Goodyerdzdes

Pernéttya angustifolia
phillyreifolia -

Pérsica vulgaris cuit.

Petunia nyctagenifiora
phoenicea -

Philippodéndron régium

Phee‘nix dactylifera -
Pholiddta conchoidea
imbricata - -
Ph7lica ericoides -
Physianthus auricomus
albens - - -
albicans
Picea excélsa
pectinata
Pimeléa nana
spectabilis -
Pinus alopecuréidea -
apulcensis~ - -
austriaca -
australis -
Banksid@na -
brittia - s
calabrica -
carpatica =
Cémbra
Devonidna
excélsa
halepénsis
Hartweg7z
jnops
japénica
Lambertzana
Laricio - _ =
leiophylla_- -
macrophjlla=-
maritima ~
Montezume
_mitis -
nigréscens
oocarpa =
oocarpoides
Pallasiana
paltistris
excélsa
Pindster
Pinea’ -
pityusa -
ponderdsa-
Pseudo- SEO
pumilio -
pungens
pyrenaica
resinosa
romana =
Russeléana
serétina
sinénsis -
Strdbus -
sylvestris - 2

oC 7 G0 9
oe aan

36.

uncinata -
variabilis -
Webbiana -
Pisdnia Olferstina
Piatanus orientalis
occidentalis 5
Pleurothallis lutéola
recirva -
Plumbago capénsis -
Podélepis aristata >
Pol¥gonum volcanicum
Polystachya cérea -
Populus alba - =
fastigiata - -

rer
oer f a 6

heterophylla -
monilifera *‘-
trémula -
Portulaca oleracea

cyl UO 00

rary
i=) (e)
Mr rsp ete Cn pry Orgs

460. 402.
5

LIST OF PLANTS MENTIONED OR TREATED OF.

Posoquéria versicolor = - 325
Potentilla insignis - - 559
réptans - - - - 538
Primula pre/nitens - - 222
Pronaya élegans - - - il
Prinus lusitanica - - 507
rotundifolia - - - 330
Psidium Cattleydnum - 51
Ptéris serrulata - - ~ 221
Punica Granatum - - 505
Piya Altensteiniz - - 84
heterophylla - - 15
Pyrus aucuparia - - - 503
communis - - - 504
salicifolia - - 278

Malus = c - - 504
Sérbus - - - - 332
Quércus Alba - 36. 203. 391. 641
apennina - - - 391
australis - - - 386
Banistert = - - 37
coccinea - - = 203
E’sculus S - - 391
falcata < = - = of
fastigiata - - - 641
heterophylla - - 36. 380
Ilex - - 271. 274. 386
lyratagi= tie TO
macrocarpa - - - 36
nigra - - - - 36
obtusiloba = - - 37
palustris - - 37.203
pedunculata 31. 291. 301
Phéllos - = - 36. 93
Prinus discolor = - 36
monticola o - 36
Psetido-Siber - - 385
pubéscens = - 93.386
rubra - = - 9386. 203
Robur - - - - 502
sessiliflora - 31.203. 301. 400.

403

incana - - 386
pubéscens - - 386

Skinnerz - - - 609
Tatixin - - - 391
tinctoria - - 37. 204
virens - - 93. 476
Rafflésia Arnoldi - - 187
Raphanus caudatus - - 86
Rhamnus catharticus - 538
#héeum palmatum = - - 488
Rhéxia decussata = - 357
FHhodedéndron BUDO UE - 184
datricum - - 462
atrovirens - - 462
ferrugineum - - 462
hirstitum = = - 462
Rhodorhiza scoparia - - 560
Rhus Cotinus = o - 572
Ribes sanguineum = - - 231
specidsum = - - 572
Robinéa glutindsa - - 391
Psetid-Acicia - - 391
viscdsa - - - 572
Roderiguéz7a maculata - 15
Rosa devoniénsis - - 559
indica - - - - 86
Junonia - - - 536
Roscdea purpurea - - 645
Rubus trilobus - - - 669
Rudbéckia Drumméndz ~- 168
Rimex maritimus - - 480
Salisburza adiantifolia - 182. 352
Salix alba - = - - 507
babylonica - 503
Salsdla Kalz - = 115
Salvia amee‘na - - - 561
confertiflora - - - 561
hians - - = 561
famiifolia = = - - 561
patens - - - - 301
prunelloides = - 10. 14
régla - - - 13. 260
tubifera - - - 561

Sar gdssum vulgare - ~ 524
bacciferum - = - 524

LISTS OF FRUITS AND CULINARY VEGETABLES. Xl

Scabidsa arvénsis - - 469 Statice pectinata - - 14] Tripiélion spindsum - - 259
Schizanthus Evansé@nus - 561 | Stephandtis floribtinda - 168 | Triticum répens - - 504
pinnatus - - 561 | Stévza trachelidides - - 259 | Trope‘olum Moritzidnum- 61.
Schweiggéria paucifldra - 557 | Streblorhiza specidsa - 62, 559 369
Scélymus hispanicus - - 391 | Streptocarpus Réxa@ - - 223 | Tulipa patens - - - 562
Scutellaria japénica - - 260 | Strobilanthes scabra - - 357 tricolor - - 562
spléndens - - - 369 séssilis - - - 561 | Tussilago odorata - - 1
Sida Bedfordzana - - 558) Stylidium Drummondz - 260| U’lmuscampéstris - 356. 506
picta - - - - 11 ciliatum - - - 559 latifolia - - 391
Sobralza séssilis - - - 261 | Symphoria glomerata - 230 efftsa - - - 93. 389
Solanum carolinianum - 632 | Syringa Emodi - o - 608 montana ‘. - 391. 506
dulcamardides - - 168 | Taberne montana dichétoma glabra « - 32
Jjasminoides - - 168 560 | Vacefnium Myrtillus - - 183
macranthérum - - 168 | Tagefes erécta - - 537 | Valertina rubra - - 401
vestitum - - 13) Tamarix ericdides - - 86] Verbéna;Melindris - - 14
Sophora japonica péndula - 389 gallica - - - 536 | Verénica hederefolia - - 480
Sowerbe* alaxiflora - - 168 | Taxus baccata - - - 504 virginiana - - - 401
jancea - 168 | Thomasza canéscens - - 11) Vicia Faba - - - 537
Bpaceitinn multifidrum | - 572 | Thodja articulata - - 297 | Vinca minor - - ~ 536
Spire’a bélla - - 488 occidentalis - 3 - 507 | Viola odorata - - - 536
Filipéndula rdbra_ - 298 | Thymus Serpyllum_ - - 469 tricolor - - - 537
kamtchatica - - 62] Tilia europe‘a ~- 271. 274, 504| Vitex A’gnus cdstus - - 536
vacciniifolia - - 488 rubra - - - - 506 | Vitis vinifera ° - - 505
Sprekélza cinnabarina - 326 | Tillandsia usmeoides - - 477 | Zichya pannosa - - - 559
cybister - - - 326| Tithdnia ovata - - - 559 tricolor = = - 559
formosissima - 326 | Trachélium cerileum - 223| Zygopétalum africanum - 14

glatca - - - ~ 961. 326

LIST OF FRUITS.

Apples : — Grapes continued Pines, - cult. 17. 51.'201. 234. 387
Sweet and Sour - - 476 Frankenthal - so § Black Jamaica - 53
Bananas - “ - 492 Grizzly Frontignan - 48 Enville - - 3 al. 387

Bérberis dulcis = = - 586 Madeleine - S - 404 Providence - - Q1

Cherries : Muscat = - 402 Queen - . 231
Nap oleon - - 391 of Alexandria - Ae 24.| Plantain - 50. 201. 334, 387 43}
New one described - 330. 569 48. 387 | Plums : —

Currants - - 564. cult. 573 Royal Muscadine - 5. 26 Green Gage - - 416

Figs = - 37. cult. 375 Sweetwater - - 23, 24 Ickworth Impératrice 614

Fichsia falgens - - - 648 Syrian - - - - 26 Old Impératrice - - 614

Guava - - - - 51. 234 Tripoli - - 26] Quince S - - - 564

Gooseberries - 391. 465. 521. West’s St. Peter’s - 26| Raspberry - - = - 465

cult. 213 White Frontignan - 5|Strawberries, - cult. 39. 56. 229

Granadilla - - White Muscadine - 48 Alpine’ = 39. cult. 266. 387

Grapes - 45. 47, 48. 73: 96 962. Wilmot’s New Hamburg 614 Bishopwick = - - 614

571 | Melons - - 53. cult. 465 Carolina Pine - - 40

cult. 21. 53. 170, 171. 1. 235. | Nectarines : — Downton - - 40
Black Clutesr - mp) Select List of - 66. cult. 361. Hautbois, - cult. 266
Black Hamburg - 5. 26. 48. 574 Keen’s Seedling - 39.
402. 614] Orange - - - 93. 400. 427 cult. 264

Black July - - - 404 | Peaches - - cult. 63. 321. 571 Myatt’s British Queen - 614
Black Muscat - = Select List of - = iG Eliza - = - 614
Chassselas - - 387. 402 Late Admirable - - 614 Pine - - - 648
Musque - - 26 Walburton Admirable- 614 Newsam’s Princess Royal614
Corinth - - - 404| Pears - - - - - 464 Roseberry - - 39
Damascus - - 24. 26 Dunmore - - - 614 Swanston Seedling - 614
Dutch Black Hamburg - 26 Flemish - < - 615 Wellington - - 39
Dutch Sweetwater - 26 Groom’s Princess Royal 614 Wilmot’s Superb - 40
26 Marie Louise ~ ~ 614 Wilmot’s Victoria - 614

Esperione - - -

LIST OF CULINARY VEGETABLES.

Asparagus - - - 648 Celery :— Onion - - - - 88. 185
Marshall’s dwarf Pro- Bailey’s Gigantic - 76 | O’xalis Déppez - - 2 ks 648
lific *- - = - 614 Kentucky - - - 76 | Parsnep - - - 79
Beans - - - - - 74 Law’s Giant = - 76| Peas - - 74. 375
Mazagan - ss - 614 Manchester Giant - 76 Milford Marrow - - 614
Cabbage : — Perkins’s Large - - 76] Potatoes - S a - 329
Mammoth - - - 330 Russian Pink - =- 76 Sourmillier - = - 331
Carrot : — Seymour’s Red Solid - 76 | Radish: —
Altringham - - - 80 Superb White - 76 Java - = 86
Altringham long Orange 28 Siberian - S - 76} Rhubarb = = 75. cull. 174
Early Horn cult. 27.80 | Comfrey - - - - 648 Victoria - - - 648 .
New White Altringham 28 } Cucumber - 35. 53. 90. culé, | Scarlet Runners - - - 211
Surrey long - = - 28 262, 563 | Sea-kale = - 75. cult, 269
White or Belgian - 80] Mushrooms - 227. cult, 328. 526

XIV LIST OF GARDENS AND COUNTRY SEATS.

LIST OF AGRICULTURAL PLANTS.

OF HORTICULTURAL, BOTANICAL, AND FLORICULTURAL

> SOCIETIES.
Agricultural and Horticul- Highland and Agricultural Prussian Horticultural So-

tural Society of India - 593 Society of Scotland - - 458 ciety
Bath Royal Horticultural London Horticultural So- Swansea and Neath Horti-

and Botanical Society - 283 ciety and Gardens - - 331 cultural Society =
Doberan Agricultural and North Bristol Gardener’s Yorkshire Horticultural and

Silvicultural Society - 592 Society - - - - 21 Floral Society . - - 577

Annatt Cottage - - - 477 Claremont - = - 239.250 | Gunton Park - 2 - 31
Arboretum : — Clifton Park - - - 356 | Haile’s Abbey ~ = - 419

Derby - - - - 381 | Colney House - - - 237 | Hampton Court - - - 415

Flitwick = - - - 36 | Corsham House - - - 366 | Ham Green - S ~ 525
Arlington Court = - 571 | Cossey Hall 26.79. 96. 218. 467 | Haverland Park . - - 32
Ashridge - - 27. 76. 356. 365 | Cromer Hall = 2 - 31 | Hendon Vicarage - = 313
Barningham Park - - 30] Dalkeith Gardens - - 280 |Henham - - - - 355
Baring Park - e - 238 | Dalvey - - - 166 | Heydon Park - - - 33
Bayfield Hall - = - 272 | Ditchingham HIOnee - - 273 | Honing Hall - = - 272
Beeston Park - - - 272 Donnington Park - - 365 | Horsford Hall - = - 31
Belvoir Castle - - - 365 | Downton Castle - - 366. 376 | Houghton Park - - - 271
Bicton °- - - = 68} Dropmore - - - - 259 | Hoveton Park - - 33. 271
Biggar Park - - - 439 | Dunimarle Gardens - - 465 | Hungerton Hall - - 73
Bittiswell Hall - - - 312 | Earsham Park - - - 273 | Hunstanton Park - - 271
Blair-Adam Gardens - 462.465 | Eastnor Castle - - ~- 367 | Hyde Park - = = 492
Blair-Drummond Q - 505 | Eatington Park - - - 324 | Jardin des Plantes = 239. 393
Blenheim Palace - - 34 | Eaton Hall - - - - 366 | Kenwood - - - - 383
Blickling Park - - - 29 Elvaston Castle - - - 217 | Kew - - - - 363
Blithewood - oS - 422 Erskine House - - 257. 434 | Kinfauns Caster o - 477
Bohemia Park - o - 593 | Esholt Hall 6 = - 610 | Kinlet = = - 573
Booton Hall - = = 31] Felbrigg Park - - - 31 | Kirby Cane Hall” = = 273
Botanic Gardens : — Felthorpe Park -— - - 31 | Knowsley Hall - - - 563

Bartram’s - - - 380 | Foxley - - - 367 | Knypersley - - - 261

Bath - - - 283 | Gadebridge - - - 76 | Lemon Hill - = = 422

Berlin - - - 379. 479 | Gardens :— Letton Park - - - 272

Birmingham - 11.13 Baron Rothschild - 298 | Losset Hall - - - 238

Chelsea - - - 266 Bryan, Captain George 75 | Lowther Castle - - - 367

Glasgow 2 oe (Hl 2B Caledonian Horticultural 7 | Margam - - - 368

Glasnevin - = - 284 Count Castiglioni - 182 | Mawley Hall - 173. 264. 274. 478

Hull - 2 - - 190 Cunning ar Alexender Melbury Park - ~ - 210

Liverpool - 3 - 38 Esq. - = 6 | Merivale Hall =< - - 231

Munich - 152.154. 219. 305 Dartford - - - 334 | Monte Video’ - - = 424

Newburgh - = - 147 Davidson, Henry, Esq. 7 | Neuilly - - - - 388

Oxford - = = - 432 Henslow, Professor - 281 | New Hall - - - - 561

Rouen- - - — - 290 Kensington - - - 331 | Nurseries :—

Royal Dublin - - 184 London Horticultural 62. Bagshot - - - 12
Boyton - a oo OB 831 Bayswater - - 260. 560
Brantingham ean yee 76 Luxembourg - — - 198 Berkhampstead - - 77
Brooke Hall - - = ~- 973 Madame de Pompadour 406 Bertin’s =e = 5S
Brooke House - - - 273 Palais Royal of 2 168 Cambden - - - 325
Bury Hill - - « 259. 564 Tuilleries - - - 198 Cunningham’s- - - 357
Cally femuagas i = = 8 White, =—) sq. 2 93 Dartford? = - ~- 563
Carlton Hall - - 77.356 | Garnstone - - - - 345 Durdham Down - 14. 26
Castle Hill Gardens - - 262/| Gifford’s Hall - - - 286 Epsom - - = 62. 168

LIST OF BOOKS REVIEWED OR NOTICED.

Alison’s Principles of Population, 294.

Anon. A Selection from the Physiological and
Horticultural Papers of the late Thomas Andrew
Knight, Esq., 327.

Anon, Annual Report of the Royal Cornwall
Polytechnic Society, 177. 626.

Anon. Annual Report of the Committee of
National Monuments and Works of Art, 627.

Anon. Berlin Horticultural Transactions, 38.

Anon. Botanical Labels for the Herbarium, 229.

Anon. Companion to the British Almanack for
1841, 34.

Anon. Garten Zeitung, 152. 219. 252. 302. 479.
486. 490. 510. 513. 527.

Anon. Jameson’s Journal, 278.

Anon, Journal of the Royal Agricultural So-
ciety, 79. 625.

Anon. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of
Bengal, 359.

Anon. The Journey-Book of England, 628.

Anon. The Kitchen Garden, from the British
Almanack, 625.

Anon. Mechanic’s Magazine, 278.
Anon. Penny Cyclopedia, 460.
Anon. Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, 119.

138. 295. 438.

Anon. The British Almanack for 1841, 34.

Anon. The British Farmers’ Magazine, 626.

Anon. The Field, the Garden, and the Wood-
land, 326.

Anon. Transactions of the Pennsylvania Hor-

ticultural Society, 176.

Anon. Transactions of the Prussian Horticul-
tural Society, 337.

Anon. Transactions of the Society of Arts, 274.

Anon. Vegetable Physiology, 327. 616.

Antoine’s Coniferz, 28. 624.

Austin and Seeley’s Specimen Book of Sculptural
Works in Artificial Stone, 370.

Ayre’s Treatise on the Cucumber, 327.

Bailey Denton’s Model Mapping, 626.

Bainbridge’s Flower Garden, 628.

Brande’s Dictionary of Science, 177. 626.

Britton’s Graphic Illustrations, &c., of Todding-
ton,’ Gloucestershire, 362. 418.

Carter’s Catalogue of Seeds for 1841, 177.

Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, 10. 61. 167. 258. 324.
357. 557.

Daubeny’s Lectures on Agriculture, 270.

Davy’s Agricultural Chemistry, 98.

De Candolle’s Description d’une Nouvelle Espéce
de Figuier, 85. a

De Candolle’s Huititme Notice sur les Plantes
Rares, &c., 85.

Downing on the] Theory and Practice of Land-
scape-Gardening, 421. 472.

Duncan’s Treatise on the Cucumber, 274.

Edwards’s Botanical Register, 10. 61. 167. 258.
324, 357. 557.

Fowld’s and Lymburn’s Catalogue of Plants, 33.

Gardener’s Chronicle, 9/45.
Germain’s Observations sur quelques Plantes
Critiques des Environs de Paris, 177. :
Graham’s Catalogue of Plants growing in Bom-
bay, 85.

Gregory’s Catalogue of Plants, &c., 33.

Grigor’s Eastern Arboretum, 29. 270. 624.

Gulliver’s Plants of Banbury, 625.

Harrison’s Floricultural Cabinet, 16.

Harvey’s British Algz, 625.

Hoffland’s Description of White Knights, 157.

Jamin’s Catalogue des Arbres Fruitiers, 620.

Johnson’s Farmers’ Encyclopedia, 625.

Johnson’s Farmers’ Almanack, 628.

Lane and Son’s Catalogue of Roses, 624.

Leigh’s Hints for an Essay on Anemology and
Ombrology, 87.

Lewis’s Kilpeck Church, 627.

Liebig’s Organic Chemistry, 97.

Lindley’s Introduction to Botany, 459.

Link, Klotzsch, and Otto’s Icones Plantarum
Rariorum, 84. 369.

Loudon’s Arboretum Britannicum, 93. 182. 186.

Loudon’s Architectural Magazine, 427.

Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Plants, 182.

Loudon’s Hortus Britannicus, 182.

Loudon’s Supplement to the Encyclopedia of
Plants, 369.

Loudon’s, Mrs., Ladies’ Magazine of Gardening,
61. 167. 259. 557.

Lucombe, Pince, and Co’s. Catalogue of Co-
niferz, 86.

Main’s Forest Planter’s and Pruner’s Assistant, 94.

Manning’s Book of Fruits, 176.

Maund’s Botanist, 10. 167. 258. 324. 357. 557.

Maund’s Botanic Garden, 10. 167. 258. 324. 557.

Miles’s Treatise on the Cucumber, 229.

Newman’s Phytologist, 626.

Newman’s Entomologist, 626.

Noad’s Lectures on Chemistry, 626.

Owen’s Home Colonies, 628.

Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, 10. 61. 167. 259.
324. 557.

Pratt’s Flowers, and their Associations, 228.

Xvi
Rhind’s History of the Vegetable Kingdom, 228.
624 2

24,
Ricauti’s Rustic Architecture, 34.
Riley’s Catalogue of Ferns, 176.
Risso and Poiteau’s Histoire Natural des Oranges,

61.
Rivers’s Hints on Root-Pruning, 625.
Sckell on Landscape-Gardening, 353, 411. 497.

536.

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.

Selby’s History of British Forest Trees, 624.

Sopwith’s Improved Levelling Stave, 627.

Wallich’s Flora Asiatica, 38.

Webb’s Notice sur le Parolinia, 177.

White on the Theories of the Weather Prophets,
370.

Young’s Catalogue of Plants, &e., 33.

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.

A.B., 9. 231, A.D., 329. A Gardener out of
Place, 173. 264. An Amateur Gardener, 574.
An Amateur Gardener, and Constant Reader,
47. Anderson, William, 266. An old Sub-
scriber, 185.

Babbage, James, 356.
Bathurst, Charles, 378.
Beaton, D., 377. Blake, Thomas, 37.
N., 231.

C., 525. Catius, 235.430. Catton, J., 328. C.F.,
878. C.O., 516. Coltswold, 47. 73. Conductor,
35, 36, 37. 42. 45. 47. 58. 88, 89. 92, 93. 96. 181.
185, 186. 191. 208. 296. 229. 234, 237. 278. 284.
987. 330, 331, 382. 334. 350. 356. 378. 383. 430.
435. 574, 575. 654. Cree, Gavin, 435. 440. 444.
4.58. 550. Crumpsale, S. H., 377.

Downing, A.J., 146. Drummond, James, 515.
peummonds Ws and Sons, 602. Duncan, James,

1, 238.

Eaton, James, 210. Errington, Robert, 170. 255.
269, 615. Ewing, Charles, 563.

Fish, John, 237. 345. Fish, Robert, 96.

Bailey, Thomas, 334.
Baxter, W. H., 431.
Brown,

Forrest,

R., 231. Forsyth, A., 204. 494.
G. C., 233. G.G., 180. G. J., 212, Glendinning,
R., 57.63. G.L.L., 508. Godsall, W., 572.

Gordon, George, 35. 608. Gordon, W., 266.
Gorrie, A., 1.185. Gower, N. Leveson, 237.
Grey, W. Scurfield, 88. Grigor, Jolin, 164.

H., 257. Harper, F., 186. H.B., 48. H.C. O.,
593. H.L. L., 296. 564. H.O., 74. Hodgson,
Edward, 574. Hope, Thomas, 157. Hutchison,
William, 321.

J.B.C., 90. J.B. W., 48. 344. 350, 415. J.D,
333. J.G., 346. J.H., 429. J.L,152. J.M.,
91. 93. 329, 330. 379. 382. 476. 569. Jones, W.,
297. J.R., 151.333. J.S., 334.

Kendall, Peter, 286. Kent, J.C., 45. Kingston,
James, 96,

L., 230. Lambert, A.B., 92. Lauder, S., 376.
Lawrence, George, 313. Lippold, D.J.F., 37.
Lymburn, R., 97. 335. 376. 408. 416. Lucas,
Edward, 219.

Mackenzie, A., 461. 465. Mackenzie, Peter, 433.

489. 555. 600. Main, James, 208. Manetti,

Giuseppe, 183. 567. Massey, M., 17. Mills,

John, 36. M. L., 252. 302. 564. M‘Nab, James,

jun., 3. Moberley, C., 211. Moore, D., 184.

_ 284. M. F., 36. :

N., 92. 235. Nash, J., 571. Neubert, M. N., 221.
Niven, N., 49. 478. N.M.T., 9. 43. 147. 169.
235. 285, 360. 376. 564.

Ogle, Henry C., 255. Otto, Edward, 381.

Parks, J. D., 334. 563. Paxton, Joseph, 45. 234,
430. Pearson, John, 573. Pearson, William,
7. Penn, John, 232. Poiteau, M., 58. Pringle,
R., 355, 356. 610.

R., 563. R. L., 230. 522. Robertson, David, 75.
Seren John, 92. Rogers, John, 34. Rutger,

., 93.

S., 48. Saul, A., 45. 262. Saul, D., 230. 237.
Saunders, Bernard, 15. Scott, John, 239. 382.
Seymour, J., 27. 76. 356. 606. S.H., 329. Sheps
herd, Henry, 38. Shiells, G., 256. 434. Smart,
M., 31). S. O., 462.

T. B., 334. 355. Thompson, Robert, 377. 614.
Torbron, Thomas, 308. Torrey, John, 570.
Tk. S., 562 LT. S: W., 73. T.-U. W-; 429;
T. W., 571. 654. :

Vilmorin, M., 467.

W., 569. Walker, W., 223. Wallace, Jasper,
464, W. B., 184. W. D., 332. Westwood,
J. O., 186. W. H., 171. 262. 478. W.H.B.,
477. Wighton, J., 26. 77. 96. 217. 465. 574. 652.
Wilson, Robert, 45. 174. 237. Wilson, W.., 237.
Wooster: Abe Byteh Wo 185 Gils GRE Vaio Sin

THE

GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,
| JANUARY, 1841.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Art. I. On preserving Plants through the Winter, by Means of the
Temperature of Spring Water. By A. Gorriz, F.HL.S., C.S., &c.

In the Gardener's Magazine for 1830, p. 402., is a short
article by me, ‘“‘ On preserving plants in winter by means of the
temperature of spring water.” Having since made some im-
provements and fully tested its usefulness, I now send you plans
of the frame, well, and adjoining small fishponds. Perhaps
they may be admissible into your Suburban Horticulturist.

By reference to my article in the Gardener’s Magézine, it will
be observed that I then considered it might be usefully applied
by cottagers and others who could not conveniently spare the
expence of glass frames: finding, however, that many plants
useful or interesting to a more wealthy class could be easily pre-
served under any temperature however severe in this climate,
and to prevent some tender plants from being injured by too
much damp arising between the spars formerly used, I had a
box or frame formed of zinc, quite water-tight, fitted into a
wooden frame at near the top of the zine, and with glazed sashes
to fit. —

Fig. 1. shows the size of this frame, within which are placed
pots containing such flowers as are wished to flower early, such
as snowdrops, Zussilago odorata, &c., or tender green-house
plants, as represented by the section (fig. 2. a). A two-light hot-
bed frame is placed over this zine frame, large enough to allow
of 6 in. clear of water all round the zinc box. When the pots
and plants are put in, the box sinks in the water till the top of
the pots are something below the surface of the water without,
and thus the box is to that height surrounded by a uniform and
regular supply of water at the temperature of 47°, which causes
a like temperature in the air within the zinc, around the pots.
When the temperature falls 6° or 8° below freezing in the open
air, the inner sashes must be put on the zine frame, which at
a higher temperature is not necessary: and, however severe the
frost or hoarfrost may be without, the inner frame, being sur-
rounded by water at 47° or its evaporation, never has any thing

1841.— I. 3d Ser. B

2 Preservation of Plants during Winter.

———

SB
Fig. 1. Ground Plan.
a, Inner, or zinc-bottomed, frame, betwixt which and the outer frame there is a space of 6 inches, b.
c, Gold-fish pond. d, Footpath. e, Gold or silver fish. Jf, Pond for trouts, &c.

like hoarfrost on its glass, and the plants within maintain a
healthy appearance.

Geraniums, cinerarias, heliotropiums, &c., continue in a
healthy and slowly growing state, quite as fresh as in a con-
servatory. The small ponds ¢ and e in fig. 1. are fed directly
from the well in winter, to communicate warmth to the water in

" z Ny

: C. xi T\ Ni .
MMM SN a N la MGR
N 7 =

Fig. 2. Section.
a, Inner zinc frame. 6, Outer frame. c, Small pond for gold or silver fish. d, Footpath.

which are gold and silver fish. In summer the water directly
from the well would continue at about 47° (too cold for the fish) ;
and that it may acquire a higher temperature before it reaches
these small ponds wherein are also some rare aquatic plants in
pots, the whole water is directed first into the large trout pond
with a fall of some inches to prevent the water being too much
affected by the low temperature of that in the well; from this it
falls into the silver-fish pond c, and thence into the gold-fish
pond e; by this means the trout pond maintains a higher

White’s Patent Stove applied to Pits, Sc. 3

temperature than
the well, and the
other two smaller
ponds rise higher
in temperature in
proportion to their ,
distance from the
well, and in these
the gold and silver
fish seem to thrive.
All this may appear
trifling to the dahlia
fancier, but it may
be asked whether ‘
my water conserva~- _ Rie
tory, with all its.ap- Fig. 3. Isometrical View.
pendages, does not
afford as much varied’ enjoyment te a contemplative mind as can
arise from gazing on the finest cupped dahlia that ever bloomed ;
nor do I know of a better situation for keeping autumn struck
dahlia cuttings during the winter.
Annat Cottage, April 18. 1840.

The inner frame is shown by dotted lines.

Art. II. On the Application of White's Patent Stove to the Heating
of Pits and other Plant. Structures. By James M‘Nag, jun.

In compliance with your request to obtain further information
regarding the application of White’s Patent Stoves to horti-
cultural structures, I beg to say that I proceeded to Had-
dington on the 7th of April last (1840), in order to witness the
various methods which Mr. White has had recourse to for
heating houses, pits, &c., with his patent stoves; and, from what
I have seen of them during my short visit, I feel: pretty confident
that they will ere long become generally adopted and useful,
provided they be fitted up with care and by qualified individuals.
I first examined Mr. White’s vinery, figured in the following
diagrams to a scale of 54; in. to 1 foot.

ASA

un il ti HN |

et ]
Fig. 4. Elevation and End View.
a, End view of iron cover over stoke-hole. 6b, Venta which open inwards from below.
c, Front view of iron cover. Chimney can.

B 2

A Application of White's Patent Stove

Fig. 5. Ground Plan and Section.
e, Path. JS, Stove. g, Hot-air flue, with flue covers on. h, Grating on cold-air drain.
Z, Section of hot-air flue, with smoke tube inside. k, Iron rod for raising ventilating sash,

the sash shown shut.

Fig. 6. Dissected Plan and Section.

Z, Cold air drawn below path for inside feeding. m, Cold air drawn for outside feeding.
m, Horizontal section of stove, with cover and sand-bath removed. o, Hot-air flue, with the
covers taken off, showing the smoke tube. p, Iron rod for raising ventilating sash, the sash
shown open. q, Stove with its coverings, as seen inside of the house.

During the winter the stove fire has
scarcely ever been out; I requested Mr.
White to take particular notice of the
temperature during the months of De-
cember and January, at stated periods,
both in and out of doors, and I obtained
from him the following observations and
particulars regarding its management.

About 4 p. m. the embers in the stove ‘Fig.7. gna Section, showing
were stirred after being shut up all day; Fue Nears
a little coke was then put in and air freely 7” Fume feeders. 8, Ash-box.
admitted ; after being fairly kindled and burning briskly, a little
more coke was applied and then regulated for the evening;
about 9 p.m. the burning coke was again stirred, the stoves
then filled and ventilated according to the appearance of the
night. At seven the following morning the temperature was
observed both in and out of doors, and the following table will
show the result of the observations kept during that period.

With the exception of the 26th of Dec. three of the flue covers
were always kept up, but on that night all were down, and the
thermometer in consequence fell below 60°. After marking the
temperature, a little more coke was given and the stove shut up
close for the day. The thermometer in the evenings, when the
fire was made up, generally ranged from 65° to 68°.

to the Heating of Pits, 5c. 5

——

Observations taken at 7 a.m. during Dec. 1839 and Jan. 1840.

Temperature | Temperature Temperature | Temperature
in Vinery. | in open Air. in Vinery. | in open Air.
1839. Dec. 1. 60° 36° 1840. Jan. 1. 65° 38°
— 2. 49 28 — 2. 65 42
— 3. 55 32 — 3. 64: 40
— 4. 56 34 — 4. 65 33
— 3. 61 34 — 5. 64: 30
— 6. 61 30 — 6. 64: 29
— 7%. 63 31 — %, 60 . 24
— 8. 61 28 => [skh 66 32
— 9. 62 32 — 9. 66 34
— 10. 64: 34 — 10. 64: 29
— ll. 61 32 — 11 61 39
— 12. 64: 40 — 12 66 42
— 13. 66 41 — 13 65 44,
— 14. 65 40 — 14 63 38
— 15. 60 38 — 15 65 Ads
— 16. 62 36 — 16 65 40
== 1% 65 34 — 17 64 34:
== IIS, 63 34 — 18 65 33
—— 19% 65 37 — 19 65 40
— 20. 65 45 — 20 60 34
— 21 68 AT — 21 64 Al
=—— 22 61 46 — 22 60 35
— 23 69 45 — 23 61 46
— 24 65 42 — 24 68 30
— 25 60 38 — 25 64: 34:
— 26 55 28 — 26 62 38
— 27 63 30 — 27 61 31
— 28 63 27 — 28 62 32
— 29 62 28 — 29 60 32
— 30 64: 26 — 30 60 31
— 3i1 65 45 — 3l 60 34

On the 16th of Feb. (1840), the following vines were planted
in the house, viz. Black Hamburg, White “Fr ontignan, Frank-
enthal, Royal Muscadine, Muscat of Alexandria, Black Muscat,

and Black Cluster. Early in April gentle heat was applied,
and the result already proved is very ‘ae
which Mr. White first erect-
ed in his garden, and to

which a trial of his stove

was first applied, had at the

period of my visit a plentiful

The pit is 10 ft. long, 54 ft. Fig.8. Section and Le EEE Mr. White's

me Pit

wide, and is heated with one

of the small patent stoves, placed at the back part of the pit inside,
the feeder being on the outside ; the smoke pipe is conveyed under
the surface of the soil from the stove to the front of the pit, as.

The small pit (jig. 8.)
crop of grapes setting well. ort Lt
B 3

6 White's Patent Stove applied to Pits, &c.

shown in the section, ji. 8. ata. The

treatment used for the small stove was || | HA

the same as described for the large one,
the thermometer in the evenings ranging
from 70° to 75°.

Fig. 9. is a vertical profile of this pit
with the sashes on. Fig. 9. Vertical Seinen of Mr.

I next visited the garden of Alexander Wikies Tinea
Cunningham, Esq. alinie gentleman is a great enthusiast in horti-
culture; and, being pleased with this evel method of heating, he
agreed to have a range of pits put up, and to be heated with one
of the patent stoves on n Mr. White’s plan. Mr. Cunningham’s range
is 24 ft. long, 7 ft. 6 in. wide, 3 ft. high at back, and 18 in. in front.
It is divided into three spaces, as shown at a b cy fg. 10. The

5) 0 loft
Fig. 10. Ground Plan of Mr..Cunningham’s Pits for Grapes, Melons, and Peaches. :

smoke pipe is of cast iron, which is found to answer much better
than the malleable iron ones first used by Mr. White. The pipe
is laid in a built flue with movable covers, instead of fire-clay
cylinders, as used in Mr. White’s vinery. Fire-clay cylinders
are more expensive but much neater-looking than the built ones.
The stove in Mr. Cunningham’s pit is placed at the front or

south-west corner, anil the heat carried along the front
seloy the level of the soil, as shown in he sections in

Pit for ‘Grapes. Pit for Melons. Pit for Peaches.

The first division of Mr. Cunningham’s pit, occupying three
sashes, is planted with vines; the next, of two sashes, with
melons; and the third, also of two sashes, with peaches. At
the period of my visit it was Mr. Cunningham’s wish to have
most heat in the vine pit; and accordingly two or three of the flue
covers were tilted up in it, and one in the melon department;
after a while, when less heat will be required for the vines, the
covers will be shut down and those in the melon and peach

Systematic Plan for Kitchen Service. 7

departments raised a little. The stove employed in this pit is
No. 4.; and Mr. Cunningham assures me that two bushels of
coke (6d. worth) a week is as much as his stove has been able
to consume during the severest weather which he has had it

ii i i i il i |
ali |

ie
2
i / ’
Wii Wi
| | \
: IN
Fig. 12. Vertical Profile of Mr. Cunningham’s Pits, with the Sashes on.

The next structure visited was a green-house belonging to
Henry Davidson, Esq., sheriff substitute, Haddington. The
stove and hot-air flue are placed and fed within. Mr. Davidson
seems highly delighted with it, both on account of the fuel
saved, and the little trouble required for its management, the
only objection being the escape of a little dust while cleaning
out the stove. As Mr. Davidson’s green-house is situated on
the top of some out-houses and entered from the lobby of the
second floor of his dwelling-house, few other methods of heating
could have been contrived to answer the purpose so well.

From what Mr. White has already done in heating horticul-
tural structures with his patent stoves, I feel pretty confident in
their success. He is at present engaged fitting up several green-
houses and pits in this country, and amongst “others a vinery for
the Earl of Lauderdale. One of Mr. White’s stoves’ was
recently fitted in a green-house erected for Lord Jeffrey, at
Craig Crook: the mildness of the weather since its erection has
caused it to be little used. Previously, however, to the plants
being put in, I saw it thoroughly tested, and ihe results of a
week’s trial agree very closely with the observations on Mr.
White’s vinery.

Cal. Hort. Soc. Garden, Edinb., April, 1846.

Hi Mu
i | i |
il

ul ee

Art. III. A Systematic Plan for a Gardener to “serve the Kitchen.”
By W1iLL1AM PEARSON.

I sec leave to submit for your approval or disapproval the
accompanying simple plan which I put into practice some years
ago, for the purpose of serving the kitchen and the dessert with
more facility and regularity than is generally done.

Many of my brethren are well aware of the disagreeable
things which almost daily occur between the gardener ‘and the
cook in regard to the vegetables, fruit, &c., which often arise

B 4

8 Systematic Plan for Kitchen Service.

through the ignorance of the latter, in not knowing the state of
the crops, &c., and sometimes through the inattention of the
person who is appointed to serve. The’plan is so simple, that
it needs no explanation. Every garden production is to be
marked in the bill, which is to be sent to the kitchen every
morning, and the cook is to be requested to put his mark to
every article which he wants for that day. This done, the bearer
proceeds to the garden, and puts the bill into the hands of the
gardener or his foreman, who gives orders accordingly.

The bills are renewed from time to time, and all crops that
are exhausted are to be expunged, and the newly come in crops
to be added. ‘The old bills are carefully kept, and at leisure
are entered into a book, which proves a capital reference in more
respects than one: in that book are to be found day and date,
kind and quantity ; and one year may be compared with another,
both in regard to earliness and weight of crop.

Cally Gardens, Aug. 17. 1840.

Tue Kircuen BIL.

Names of Articles. Days of the Month — ( August.)

6|7)8/9 10 11/12/13 14)15 16l17|18 19

(XS)
je)

NN | +
RK | &

Peas, young -
Peas, old -
Beans = > ih
Kidneybeans - Z
Cauliflowers - L
Cabbages -
Turnips - SA V2 Pe
Carrots = =
Potatoes = - Ze
Onions = =
Leeks = =
Artichokes =
Spimage = - -
Vegetable Marrows
Cucumbers -
Lettuces = =
Gooseberries =
Currants - -
Cherries = =
Plums = =
Grapes - Z
Peaches - -
Nectarines -
Pine-apples -
Raspberries =
Strawberries e
Sweet Herbs of

sorts, &c. - Zz. Ze
Ice - = Zz a

ISDS |=

N
NNIK

NANAK
N
NRK
N

NNN
N
NNRNEA

NNK

NNN
RNKARKRARKN

KNW

NRK
N

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Leycesteria formosa, as Shelter for Game. 9

Tue Dessert BIL.

Names of Articles. | Quantities. Days of the Month — (August.)
1} 2) 3) 4 5) 6 7 8) 9/10)11/12)13}14)15)16)17

Pine-apples - | No. 1 1 1

Grapes - | Ibs. 3} 2) 4! | 6

Peaches -| No. {24/15} 10) {12

Nectarines’ - No. 10| 9 8 7

Melons - | No. 1 1 1

Cherries -.| Ibs, 1) 2/14) 1) 1

Plums - | lbs. 2) 2) 3/13) 1

Gooseberries - | Pts 1} 2) 1) 1} 2

Strawberries - | Pts IW) TM Ty TYP Tp al

Currants, &c. Pts. a) 3) 2) 2) a) 2

Ice - - Je Zea WZ

Art. IV. On Leycestéria formosa, as an Undergrowth for the
Shelter and Food of Game, and as a Sea-Breeze Plant. By
N. M. T.

LrycrstTE‘rI4 formosa is by no means a splendid plant, but
it is, under every circumstance, a striking and very interestin
one. Its admirable pendent racemes of flowers and fruit, shel-
tered by numerous branches and leaves, are so different from
any thing we before possessed, that I find them attract universal
attention. Its decidedly hardy character, the amplitude of its
foliage, the extreme rapidity of its growth, and the ease with
which it may be produced from cuttings, layers, or seed, all
point it out as an object well calculated to form underwood, or
shelter for game. Its worth for such purposes would be doubled,
could game be brought to feed upon its berries, which are pro-
duced in great profusion. Could its (to me) insipid fruit be
converted into any useful domestic purpose, it would, I think,
under culture, require the same treatment as the raspberry, as
it seems disposed to produce its shoots from the bottom annually.

It seems also to possess in a great degree the valuable pro-
perty of standing unshrinkingly the saline breeze, whence it may
possibly be useful where so many things are really useless. The
only seeming objection to its covering what appear to be un-
coverable wastes is, that it carries too much sail.

Folkstone, Sept. 10. 1840.

Art. V. Notice of a Petunia of extraordinary Dimensions. By A.B.

Havine read in some of the Numbers of the Gardener’s Ma-
gazine notices of the size to which different plants have at-

10 Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices,

tained, I send you the dimensions of a Petunia placed in the
latter end of May 1839, as a cutting (only a few inches high),
against a wall facing the south-east. It measured at the end of
that year 9 ft. in height, and 13 ft. in breadth; a matting pro-
tected it through the winter, and it is now (Dec. 1. 1840) 13 ft.
high, and 16 ft. broad. It is trained in the fan shape, and has
never ceased presenting throughout the spring, summer, and
autumn, a gorgeous mass of the most splendid bloom, until
checked by the frosts which set in here (in the hills of Caer-
marthenshire) early. A cutting, taken from the above Petunia
in the autumn of 1839, now measures 10 ft. high, by 12 ft. wide.
This Petunia is a hybrid between P. nyctaginiflora and P. phoe-
nicea; the blossom is large, and of a rosy purple colour, with a
dark eye. A Coboe’a scandens of this year has also reached the
height of 20 ft.— Dolau Cothi, near Llandovery, Dec. 1. 1840.

Art. VI. Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices of
the Kinds of Plants newly introduced into British Gardens and
Plantations, or which have been originated in them; together with
additional Information respecting Plants (whether old or new) already
in Cultivation: the whole witended to serve as a perpetual Supplement
to the ‘‘ Encyclopedia of Plants,” the ‘* Hortus Britannicus,” the
“ Hortus Lignosus,” and the “ Arboretum et Fruticetum Britan-
nicum.

Curtis’s Botanical Magazine ; in monthly numbers, each containing
seven plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by Sir William
Jackson Hooker, LL.D., &c., Professor of Botany in the University
of Glasgow.

Edwards’s Botanical Register ; in monthly numbers, new series, each
containing six plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by
Dr. Lindley, Professor of Botany in the University College,
London.

Maund’s Botanic Garden, or Magazine of Hardy Flower Plants cul-
tivated in Great Britains; in monthly numbers, each containing
four coloured figures in one page; large paper, Is. 6d.; small, 1s.
Edited by B. Maund, Esq., F-.L.S.

Paaton’s Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants;
in monthly numbers; large 8vo; 2s. 6d. each.

The Botanist ; in monthly numbers, each containing four plates, with
two pages of letterpress; Svo; large paper, 2s. 6d.; small paper,
ls. 6d. Conducted by B. Maund, Esq., F.L.S., assisted by the
Rev. J. S. Henslow, M.A., F.L.S., &c., Professor of Botany in the
University of Cambridge. ;

In these notices we may direct attention to the following new plants, which
promise to be valuable additions to our gardens. The most important of these
is Fuchsia corymbifiora, the most splendid fuchsia ever introduced ; and next
to this is Hibiscus Wrayee, a beautiful Swan River shrub. Impatiens candida,
Indigofera stipularis, Monolopia major (the Helénium Douglassii of the seed
shops), Caléndula Astérias, Martjniafrdgrans and Sdlvia prunellordes, are also
well deserving of attention. To these may be added Calectasia cydnea, a most

supplementary to Enc. of Plants, Hort. Brit., and Arb. Brit. 11

beautiful Australian plant, figured in the Bot. Mag. t. 3834., but not yet
introduced. The flowers are of a most beautiful brilliant blue, and of the kind
called everlasting. It grows in sandy soil among shrubs.

Ranunculacee. z

1599. DELPHI’/NIUM (1840, 64., and Bot. Gard. 761.
decorum Fisch. et Mey. decorous Yy or 13 my P New California 1838. S co Bot. reg.

This pretty larkspur was first raised in the Botanic Garden, Birmingham,
from seeds received from St. Petersburg, it being a native of the Russian
settlement of New California in North America. “It is a plant of neat
growth,” and it appears perfectly hardy ; but “ at present it does not admit of
division of the root.” (Bot. Gard.and Bot. Reg., Nov.)

Capparidacee.

ISO’MERIS (Isos, equal, meris, part ; regular petals, and equal length of stamens and pistils.)

arborea Nutf. tree _]| % pr 10 my Y California 1839. C co Bot. mag. 3842,

~An erect deciduous shrub, with yellow flowers, which have rather a dis-
agreeable smell, and which bear some resemblance to those of the small-
flowered Edwardsia. It is a native of California, where it was discovered by
Nuttall. (Bot. Mag., Dec.)

Pittosporee. :

Pronaya élegans Hugel. This elegant Swan River shrub has flowered in the
Milford Nursery. (B. MZ. R., No. 200., Nov.)

Malvacee.

2014. HIBI/SCUS
Wraye Lindl. Mrs. Wray’s 2 or 10 o P Swan River 1839. C co. Bot. reg. 1840, 69.

A very beautiful green-house shrub, of very easy culture, raised from
Swan River seeds sent home by Drummond. It should be planted in the free
ground in a conservatory, where it will flower abundantly, “ and will continue
to produce a succession of bloom throughout the winter and spring.” It is
named in honour of Mrs. Wray of Oakfield, near Cheltenham, in whose garden
it flowered for the first time last summer. (Bot. Reg., Dec.)

3489. ABU TILON striatum
Synonyme: Sida picta Bot. Mag, 3840.

Byttneriacee.

Thomasia canéscens Lindl. A little “Swan River shrub, with bright purple
flowers, and leaves covered on the under side with whitish hairs. (B. MZ. R.,
No. 203., Nov.)

Geraniacee.

1932. GERA‘NIUM [1840, 67.
rubifolium Lindi. Bramble-leaved y A pr 1 jl P Himalayas 1839. D s.p _ Bot. reg.

A hardy perennial, of erect habit of growth, but not exceeding 1 ft. high.

“ Tt should be planted in light soil, or on rockwork, as itis soon destroyed by
the wet in winter.” (Bot. Reg., Dec.)

Balsaminacee.

Impatiens candida Lindl. “ A noble-looking tender annual from India,
growing 6 ft. high, with “ large terminal clusters of snow-white flowers, slightly
spotted with crimson. (B. M. R., No. 204., Nov.)

Celastrinee.

672. ELEZODE’NDRON [3835.
capénse Eck.et Zey. Cape _] cu 18 jn G Cape of Good Hope 1828. C co. Bot. mag.

A handsome evergreen tree which requires protection in Scotland, but which
would probably endure the climate of London with the protection of a wall.
The flowers are small and greenish, and the fruit yellow. It is very different
from the plant in common cultivation as Elzodéndron capénse, which “ is
nothing else than a narrow-leaved variety of the common bay.” (Bot. Mag.,
Nov.)

Leguminose.

INDIGO’FERA
stipularis Link Jlarge-stipuled %\_] or 1 my Pk _ S.Africa 1816. S co. Bot. 191.

12 Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices, —

A very handsome species, which, though introduced so long since as 1816,
is not common in collections. The flowers are pink, and they are produced in
a dense raceme. The specific name alludes to the large leaf-like stipules.
It “is found in elevated rocky situations on the borders of Cafferland, at the
eastern limits of the colony ;” and it does not require “so great a degree
of summer heat as the plants from the neighbourhood of Cape Town.”
(Botanist, Nov.)

Onagracee.

FU’CHSIA [reg. 1840, 70.

corymbiflora Riz et Pavon cluster-flowered % | sp 6 su S. Peru 1840. C. r.m

This splendid plant was raised by Mr. Standish of the Bagshot Nursery,
from seed which he procured, through a friend at Montreal in Canada, from
Cusco in Peru; and it is evidently the Fiachsia corymbiflora of the Flora
Peruviana. It was found by Ruiz and Pavon in the woods of Chinchao and
Muna, to the north-east of Lima, in shady situations. This country abounds
with many beautiful kinds of fuchsia, several of which are not yet introduced,
“and remain among the greatest desiderata of florticulture.” (Bot. Reg., Dec.)

In a communication which we have received from Mr. Standish, he informs
us that “ this fuchsia is considerably more hardy than Fichsia fulgens, and
indeed quite as hardy as any fuchsia in cultivation.” The best way of growing
and flowering it, he tells us, is, to prepare a bed in the open garden with light
rich soil, in the month of May; and as soon as all appearance of frost is over,
which will generally be about the end of that month, to turn the plant out into
a bed so prepared, when it will soon begin to grow, and form a massive ball
of roots and a handsome head. It may be left to flower in the open ground,
or, if desirable, it can afterwards be taken up and planted in a pot, or in the
conservatory, without doing it the slightest injury; such is the abundance of
fibrous roots that it produces close to the main root. Mr. Standish adds that
this plant is a very strong feeder, and can hardly have too much room to
grow in, or too great a depth of soil, or too rich a soil. Small flowering
plants, he says, may be obtained by taking off cuttings when in a flowering state,
and planting them in thumb pots, placing each pot under a bell-glass. They
will strike root immediately, and by shifting them into larger-sized pots by
degrees, as in growing balsams, they will soon become large plants. The
house my plants are now in, he continues, “is kept from 45° to 55° of heat, and
the plants are as luxuriant in growth, as if it were now the height of summer.
I have a plant of F. fulgens in the same house, which is now ripening its wood
and becoming deciduous. F. corymbiflora is the strongest-feeding plant that
ever came under my notice. I think it almost impossible to give it too rich a
soil. In the month of January last, I placed a plant of it in a little heat ; and,
before F. falgens had broken out at all, F. corymbiflora had made shoots 18 in.
long, which proved to me that this species was more hardy than F. fulgens ;
and I was thereby induced to turn a small plant out into the open ground in
the second week of June, the immediate and rapid growth of which I was quite
astonished to see. I was also induced to turn out my largest plant of F.
corymbiflora, which was growing freely, but was showing no symptoms of
flowering. This was a tall plant with only one stem; but as soon as it was
turned out it began to branch and formed quite a head, and showed flowers in
about six weeks after being turned out; while the flowers of the former plant
first made their appearance about the middle of September. This plant is now
a noble specimen, having broken out with ten strong shoots. The diameter
of the plant is 3 ft., and its height 44 ft. ; each shoot having a raceme of flowers.
My large plant is now 6 ft. high, but having only a single stem for 4 ft. in
height ; this makes it anything but a handsome plant. The cause of this plant
not branching out is the want of room above, and nourishment at the roots.
On reading the description in the Bot. Reg. of this plant, taken from the Flora
Peruviana, it is spoken of as acquiring the height of a man, with a stem little
inclined to branch. Now under the culture Irecommend, Ihave no hesitation
in stating that it will branch out so as to form quite abush ; and, if planted out

Bot.

supplementary to Enc. of Plants, Hort. Brit., and Arb, Brit. 13

in arich conservatory border, it will in the course of a few years become a
plant at least twice the height above spoken of; and, as to flowering, it appears
now to flower at every branch it makes. — John Standish. Bagshot, Dec. 7.
1840.” :

Composite.
MONOLO‘PIA (Monolopos, having a single covering ; in allusion to the structure of the involucre.)

major Dec. greater O or 3 su Y California 1828. S co Bot. mag. 3839.

A showy free-growing annual, with large bright yellow flowers, commonly __
known in all the seed-shops as Heléniwm Douglass. It continues flowering
nearly all the summer. “ It was introduced from California by Mr. Douglas,
and has been extensively distributed by the Horticultural Society.” (of.
Mag., December.)

2448, CALE’/NDULA

Astérias Fis. et Mey. star © or 13 0 Y Northof Europe 1838. S co _ Bot. gard. 766.

A very beautiful and hardy annual, with a golden yellow flower, and dark
green leaves ; the stalk is rather slender. It was raised in the Birmingham
Botanic Garden, from seeds received from St. Petersburg. It will “ flower and
ripen seeds in any common garden soil.” It continues in beauty from August
to October. (Bot. Gard., December.)

Ericdcee.

3614. PERNE’TTY A [and Bot. gard. 768.

angustifolia Lindi. narrow-leaved a pr 2 jn W Valdivia 1834. C s.p Bot. reg. 1840, 63.,

A pretty little shrub, with white bell-shaped flowers, and small narrow dark
green leaves. [tis commonly called Pernéttya phillyreifolia in the nurseries.

It is a native of the Falkland Isles, and is very hardy; but, like all other
plants of the same genus, it is easily killed by extremes of drought and mois-
ture. It succeeds best with American plants in a peat border ; and it is
propagated by cuttings, which must be treated like those of heaths. “ They
should be potted in brown peaty soil, with very little sand in it.” (Bot. Reg.,
November ; and Bot. Gard., December. )

1174. MENZIE‘SZ4 9946 empetrifolia Bot. Gard. 762.

Pedalinee.

Martjnia fragrans Lindl. A. Mexican half-hardy annual, with very fragrant
purple flowers, enlivened by a streak of yellow down the lower lip. (B. R. AL,
No. 206., November.)

Convolvulacee.

492. CONVO’LVULUS 4205 pentanthus
Synonyme : Jaquemontia pentantha Benth. in Botanist, t. 197.

— C. floridus L. This plant has flowered in the Milford Nursery. (B. J.
R., No. 199., November.)

Ipomea ficifotia Lindl. A beautiful stove climber, with rich purple flowers,
raised in the Victoria Nursery, Bath. (8. M. R&., No. 221., December.)

Solanacee.

3565. GRABOW’SKIA
duplicata Arm. doubled _@ [7] cu 12 jl W_ Peru 1838. C. co. Bot. mag. 3841.
A rambling shrub, 12 ft. high, a native of Peru, which requires the heat of a
_stove to make it produce even a moderate quantity of flowers, which are
white, tinged with green or brown; and which are more curious than beauti-
ful. (Bot. Mag., December.)
591. SOLA‘NUM

vestitum Benth. clothed 3% ([] or 6 a@ W Mexico .. C co. Botanist, 192.

A tall shrub, with broad coarse-growing leaves, and large white flowers. It
would be worth cultivating, did it not require a stove, for which, on account
of “ the large size of its foliage, it can be scarcely recommended, except for

an extensive collection.” (Botanist, November.)
Labiate.

+ Salvia Régla Cav. A Mexican half-hardy plant, with bright scarlet flowers.

(B. Rk. M., No. 205., Nov.)

14 Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices.

+S. prunelléides Humb. This plant has been raised in the Durdham Down
Nursery, near Bristol, from tubers received from Mexico. It is a dwarf plant,
not above 8 in. high, with blue flowers; and it is about as hardy as Verbéna
Melindres. (B. M. R., No. 207., Nov.)

Verbendcee. _
CHASCO‘NUM Mey. CHAscoNUM. (Chasko, to gape ; from the gaping calyx.) {nist, 196.
cuneifdlium C. Mey. wedge-shpd-lvd S,_J pr 4 ap W C.G.H. 1821. ... s..p Bota-

A half-shrubby plant, with white flowers (which are yellow, tipped with
orange in the bud) and very peculiar leaves. It is anative of the Cape. “ It
requires green-house protection during winter, and should be in sandy loam
mixed with a little peat. It requires to be very well drained.” (Botanist, Dec.)

Plumbaginee.

929. STA’TICE 7511 pectinata Bot. Reg. 1840, 65.

Thymele’e.

87. PIMELE‘A

nana Graham dwarf yj or 2 ap jn W SwanRiver 1839. C sp Bot. mag. 3833.

A pretty Australian, about 8 in. high, with a woody stem, which is covered
with white hairs. Its leaves are thin and rather long. (Bot. Mag., Noy.)

Orchidacee.

3597. MONACHA’NTHUS 30801 discolor var. Bishnan? Bot. Mag. 3832.

The lip is fringed. (Bot. Mag., Nov.)

3538. CYRTOCHI‘LUM 29798 maculatum var. ecornitum Bot. Mag. 3836.

A pretty variety, introduced from Mexico in 1840. (Bot. Mag., Nov.)
2547. DENDRO'BIUM 28807 moschatum Bot. Mag. 3837.

D. aciculare Lindl. A curious little East Indian species, with “a single yellow-
ish flower, slightly tinged with pink. (B. RX. M., No. 188., Nov.)

D. geméllum Lindl. An East Indian species, with “small pale yellowish
green flowers, growing in pairs.” (B. WM. R., No. 192., Nov.)

D. calcaratum Lindl. A slender inconspicuous species, with green flowers,
growing in pairs. (B. M. R., No. 219., Dec.)

9532. ZYGOPH’TALUM africanum Hook.

Synonyme : Odontogléssum bictonénse Lind/., Bot. reg. 1840, 66.

This was supposed by Sir W. J. Hooker to be a native of Sierra Leone, but
it proves to be a native of Guatemala. (Bot. Reg., Nov.)

2569. ANGRA*CUM (1840, 68.
gladiifdlium Thou. sword-leaved € [X} cu 1 f W Isleof Bourbon ... D r.w Bot. reg.
An orchideous plant, with white flowers, of no beauty ; found in the Isle of

Bourbon, the Mauritius, and Madagascar. (Bot. Reg., Dec.)

Peristylus Goodyerdides Lindl. A Ceylon species, with a long spike of pure
white flowers. (B. M. R., No. 187., Nov.)

Liparis spathulata Lindl. An Indian plant of no beauty, with a long raceme
of very small green flowers. (B. M. R., No. 189., Nov.)

Epidéndron viscidum Lindl. A Mexican plant, nearly allied to E. ciliare.
(B. M. R., No. 190., Nov.)

Mazilliria macrophylla Popp. Messrs. Loddiges have just flowered a fine
variety of this species. (B. M. R., No. 191., Nov.)

Oncidium microchilum Bate. A very curious and distinct species from Gua-
temala. (B. M. R., No. 193., Nov.)

O. Wentworthianum Bate. A very beautiful species with yellow flowers,
richly stained with crimson. (B. M. R., No. 194., Nov.)

O. pelicdnum Hort. Monac. Nearly allied to O. refléxum. “The name has
doubtless been given in allusion to the column, which is not unlike a pelican
pecking her breast.” (B. M. R., No. 216., Dec.)

Bolbophijllum flavidum Lindl. “ A pale yellow-flowered orchideous plant,
imported from Sierra Leone by Messrs. Loddiges.” (B. M. R., No. 195., Nov.)

B. sordidum Lindl. A native of Guatemala. “ The flowers are very fleshy, of
a dull olive brown externally, but highly mottled with purple on the inside.”
(B. M. R., No. 217., Dec.)

Culture of Iridee in the Island of Jersey. oe

Roderiguezia maculata Lindl. “A native of Guatemala.’ It has small
flowers, of no beauty. (B. WM. R., No. 218., Dec.)

E*ria nutans Lindl. An East Indian epiphyte, “ with a single large nodding
terminal white flower.” (B. W/. R., No. 196., Nov.)

Ei. velutina G. Lodd. “A singular plant, of no beauty, from Sincapore.
(B. M. R., No. 209., Nov.)

E.. clavicailis Wall. An Indian epiphyte, with pretty white and pink flowers.
(B. M. R., No. 220., Dec.)

Grobya galedata Lindl. “A Brazilian orchideous plant,’ with dull green
flowers stained with purple. (B. JZ. R., No. 197., Nov.)

Pholidota conchotdea Lindl. A Manilla epiphyte, nearly allied to P. imbri-
cata, but with much larger flowers, “the keels of the lateral sepals” of which
“are so deep and concave, as to give the lower side of the flower the appear-
ance of the inside of a bivalved shell.” (B. MZ. R., No. 198., Nov.)

Polystachya cérea Lindl. A small Mexican species, the flowers of which are
in a drooping raceme, and have the colour and texture of old wax. (B. M. R.,
No. 208., Nov.)

Bromeliacee.

PUYA [1840, 71.
heterophylla Lindd. various-leaved ye [XJ cu 1 my Pk Mexico 1838. D pl Bot. reg.
A very curious plant, with pink flowers arranged in a close oblong spike,

and two kinds of leaves. ‘Those at the base of the plant arise from tough,

concave, broad, horny petioles, which overlie each other, forming a kind of
bulb, and are extended into narrow, hard, serrated, spiny, brown processes,
about 2in. long. The leaves, on the other hand, which are first formed, are
thin, lanceolate, bright green, and more than 18 in. long when full grown, and
bear no resemblance to the first.” It should be kept in a stove of moderate

heat, close to the light, and be allowed abundance of water while it is in a

growing state. (Bot. Reg., Dec.)

Art. VII. On the Culture of Ixias and other Iridee in the Island
of Jersey. - By BERNARD SAUNDERS, Nurseryman there.

AGREEABLY to promise I send you a few hints on the culture
of the Babiana, Ixia, Sparaxis, Tritonia, &c., which in this
island are very successfully grown in the open borders.

In September, or at the latest in October, we begin to pre-
pare our beds by well digging them about a spade and a _ half
deep, burying a stratum of rotten horse-dung at the bottom ;
about two good barrowfuls will suffice for a bed or border 30 ft.
long by 4 ft. wide. The soil, in general, must be a good
friable sandy loam, and ought to be well broken in digging ;
and the beds should be rounded so as to allow the escape of
the heavy rains which are here very prevalent in the autumn and
winter months. As soon as the ground is thus prepared and
regularly raked, begin to plant the roots in rows across the beds,
about 24 in. deep and 4 in. from each other, and about 8 in.
between the rows, covering the bulbs with sand about 1in.
deep previously to covering with mould. After the beds are thus
planted, rake and dress them well, and thus the work is com-
pleted until towards the spring; observing to keep the ground

16 Culture of Iridee in the Island of Jersey.

free from weeds, and moving or stirring it occasionally with a
small fork, which greatly accelerates the growth. The different
varieties flower in succession, from the middle of May tothe end
of June, and large beds of them produce a beautiful effect. I
would observe that the distance given above is only meant for
the dwarf-growing varieties, such as Sparaxis tricolor, and S.
grandiflora purpurea, and other seedling varieties; as also Tri-
tonia crocata, T. squalida, /’xia longiflora, and J. longiflora rosea,
which do not exceed from 6 in. to 8 in. in height: the tall and
more robust-growing sorts, such as J/’xia viridiflora, J. lilacina, I.
crateroides, Z. flexuosa, and others, require at least 6 in. between
each root, and from 9 in. to 10 in. from row to row. By thus early
planting, they get well established, and will resist a very hard
frost; as a proof of which, during the severe frost of 1837 and
1838, when the thermometer was as low as 18° Fahrenheit (see
the details in my paper in the Gardener’s Magazine for 1838,
p. 328.), my ixias, &c., were preserved by a covering of about
2in. of dry sand spread over the beds; scarcely a root was
injured. ;

It is now about twenty years since 1 commenced their cul-
ture ona small scale: finding those succeed, I anxiously sought
for more, and have since received several supplies from the
Cape of Good Hope, and many fine varieties have been obtained
from seed in Guernsey and here, which ripens very freely in the
open air. H. Dobree, Esq., jun., of Guernsey, has been very
successful in raising several splendid varieties, some of which

co)

~ have been figured in Harrison’s Loricultural Cabinet. I am

also indebted to him for many of those which I have under
cultivation, which are as follows : —

Ixia ailica Ix. maculata Tr. lineata
flexuosa Sparaxis tricolor squalida
capitata grandiflora fenestrata
craterdides purpurea crocata
viridiflora sanguinea purpurea cristata

. hlacina rosea alba concolor
racemosa decora Babiana coccinea
rubra grandiflora formosa kermesina
sulphurea Liliago longiflora

capitata sanguinea plicata
lutea tricolor lutea purpurea
rosea alba rubéscens
arborea Tritonia rosea rubra cyanea
conica longiflora striata
aurantia niger rosea sulphuirea
viridis tardiflora pallida tubulata

Thus may this beautiful tribe of bulbs be cultivated to any
extent in these islands. I am still anxious to procure new
varieties worth cultivation; and should this meet the eye of any
of your numerous readers, who possess sorts different from those

Culture of the Pine-apple at Versailles. ig

I have named, I shall feel much pleasure in either exchanging
or purchasing. I have also under cultivation from thirty to
forty varieties of Gladiolus, some of which are truly beautiful,
and on which I will give you an article at some future period. I
will also send you a few hints on the cultivation of ixias, &c., in
the open borders in England, which I have seen successfully
practised.
Jersey, Dec. 12. 1840.

Art. VIII. On the Cultivation of the Pine-apple, as practised in the
Kitchen-Garden of the Palace of Versailles. By M. Massry,
Director-General of the Gardens of the Crown.

A METHOD of cultivation has been in use for the last twenty years in the
kitchen-garden at Versailles, and is now practised throughout the neighbour-
hood of Paris, which appears to produce quickly and economically the fruit
of the pine-apple. This treatment consists, Ist, in the disuse (suppression)
of the pot while the plant is growing ; 2d, the complete renewal of the roots
after the growth of the plant, before fruiting; and, 3d, the exclusive use of
peat soil.

Ist. Disuse (suppression) of the Pot.— The consequence of not using a pot
is, that an offset of pime-apple placed, like the melon, on a bed under glass,
with the roots at liberty instead of being imprisoned in a pot, vegetates with
the same rapidity as in the tropics; that is, it acquires in six months
during the fine season, from April to October, all the strength necessary
to produce a fine fruit. It is well known that the beauty of the fruit is
always in proportion to the rapidity of the growth of the plant, and that con-
sequently a young plant produces a finer fruit than an old plant.

2d. Renewal of the Roots.— The roots of the pine-apple are the more
active the less bulky they are. It is an advantage, therefore, to replace the
roots which have served during the period of growth, by others to serve
during the period of fructification. The natural developement of the plant
shows its tendency to renew its roots. In proportion as the upper part grows,
the lower parts tend to decay, the roots as well as the leaves, and the portion
of the stock which bears them. The stock above the roots already developed
is everywhere furnished with rudiments of new roots, which lengthen as the
old ones begin to decay ; but, forced to twist over each other, and to wind
among the bases of the leaves which press them strongly against the stock,
they can only extend in proportion as the leaves disappear. It is these leaves
which are removed in the operation of renewing the roots ; a sufficient number
are removed to display the portion of the stock where the rudiments of the
new roots are already visible, and at the same time all the old roots are re-
moved. Thus left to themselves, the new roots are developed in greater
numbers than if a part of the old ones had been preserved.

After the removal of the old roots, the plant is in the same state as the
sucker which has just been separated from the parent. It is a true cutting or
slip (bouture), and it is treated accordingly. Placed in a pot and put on a
good bed under glass, sheltered from the air and the light, in a few days the
new roots lengthen, and in two months’ time the plant has produced a suffi.
ciency of them to be set for fruiting.

3d. Exclusive Use of Peat Earth.— The good effects of the suppression of
the pots during the growth of the plants, and of the renewal of the roots
after their growth before fructification, are singularly increased by the use of
peat earth. This earth, it is true, is not so long fit for vegetation as a soil
of more consistence, of which a friable mould forms a part ; but, with the

1841.—I. 3d Ser. c

18 Culture of the Pine-apple at Versailles. :

method of cultivation in question, this cannot be considered a fault, as the
action of the peat earth is only to last six months, that is to say, as long as
the plant continues growing, after which period this earth is renewed to last
about as long, viz. during the period of fructification.

Peat earth varies in its nature according to the country, but mould may
always be had with the same properties, by only taking the surface (3 or 4 in.)
of a soil that is not marshy, upon which heath grows in abundance. | In the
kitchen-garden of the Palace of Versailles, the soil in which the pine-apples
grow is the common garden mould, which in this part of the country is pure
sand, blackened a little by the manure it has received in the course of long
cultivation. The pine plants succeed in this soil, which is in fact only sand
mixed with a little mould. They succeed better, however, in a soil of natural

eat.
i Shelter, and its Application. — Four sorts of shelter are necessary for the
cultivation of the pine-apple.

Ist. A very slight shelter to make the offsets (cilletons) take root, and to
preserve them till their growth is attended to.

2d. A similar shelter, but rather higher, to protect these offsets during
growth. = :

3d. A greater degree of shelter to effect the renewal of the roots of these
offsets which have already grown, and to preserve them till they are to be
set for fruiting.

4th. A still greater degree of shelter and fire heat to force the plant to fruc-
tify at will,

Ist. Shelter to make the Offsets take Root, and to preserve them till the
month of April, at which period their growth is attended to.

This shelter is that usually employed by the gardeners of the marais (market-
gardens), in the cultivation of the melon. It is a simple light, 1 ft. high,
the frame of which, without a bottom, is placed on a bed: it is formed of
four boards nailed to four uprights of the same height. When this frame is
made 12ft. long, it has two cross bars (traverses) on the upper side to sup-
port the glazed panels which are placed upon it. These panels are 44 ft.
high at bottom, and 4 ft. across.

To exclude the air while the plants are being rooted in this frame, it only
requires to fasten moss on the ledge of the frame and onthe cross bars, by
means of a wire fastened on the upper side by nails put in at intervals, and
which are driven in when the moss is placed.

As the offsets separated from the parent live for months without completely
withering, though not planted, time may be allowed till a sufficient number
have been collected before rooting them. To prevent them from drying before
potting them to be finally removed to the frame, they may also be plunged in
the tan among the plants of the hothouse, where they will easily root. Tan
excites more than mould the emission of the roots of the pine-apple ; it stops
also the progress of decay in the stock, if it has been injured.

The bed for rooting the offsets should have the high temperature necessary
for that purpose. It is covered with tan, in which the very small pots con-
taining the offsets are arranged. Once rooted, a moderate heat in the bed,
and mats, are sufficient to protect these offsets during winter. They require
no particular care; the chief aim being to preserve them till the month of
April, when they are removed to the second frame, for the express purpose of
attending to their growth.

2. Shelter for the Growth of the Offsets. — The shelter used for the growth
of the offsets only differs from the preceding one in respect to its height,
which is as high again as the preceding. The frame is 2 ft. high at the back,
and 13 ft, in the front. The height can be increased at pleasure, by raising
ee frame, and introducing wisps of straw, as the plants grow and reach the
glass.

When, as at the garden of Versailles, a million of plants are to be set, in-
stead of along simple bed intended to be surrounded with manure (garnie

? , ER

Culture of the Pine-apple at Versailles. 19

de réchaufs), several short beds are placed one against the other, so as to
form together an immense square bed. The individual beds of this large bed
are 6 ft. broad ; therefore, when the frames are placed, the space of 2 ft. is
left vacant between them for the paths. These paths are filled with manure
as high as the frames, to warm the air within, according as the temperature
requires, till the fine weather sets in.

About 8in. of soil is put upon the bed in the frames. This thickness of
soil is sufficient. The roots, after having penetrated this soil, may without
injury extend into the bed ; but, though they grow to the length of several
feet, they rather tend to spread horizontally than to extend downwards.

Before unpotting the offsets to plant them in the frames, some of the lower
leaves are removed, in order that the rudiments of roots covered by the bases
of these leaves may be at liberty to expand. The plants, once established in this
manner, require little further care. The roots find sufficient heat in the bed during
the summer, and the temperature of the air from the month of April is always
increasing. Therefore, in a very short time, all the labour that is required
is to give air and a great deal of water and shade. The leaves become red
during the great heats, if they are not shaded for two or three hours during
the middle of the day. Canvass (a transparent kind of cloth) is. the best
to break the rays of the sun without intercepting the light. The temperature
from the middle of July to the middle of August is sufficiently high to
admit of the lights being kept partially open during the night, and to allow of
plenty of water being thrown on the heart of the plant, and in the axils of
che leaves, where it is preserved as if it were in pots.

3. Shelter to assist the Operation of the Renewal of the Roots when the
plant is grown, and to preserve it when rooted till it is taken into the fruiting-
house.

This shelter should be of sufficient dimensions to admit a person to enter
it. Its breadth should be at least 8 ft., to contain the path, the bed, and the
flues. It is halfsunk that the air may be preserved rather moist. The sum-
mit of the front wall is accordingly on a level with the exterior soil, and the
back wall, which is 6 ft. high, rises only 4 ft. above the soil. This back wall,
in its lower part, is built in arches, the spaces being filled with plates of
metal, by means of which, when it is necessary, dung placed on the outside
transmits its heat into the interior. This heat is preferable to that of fire,
and is sufficient, when the season is not too severe in winter, to preserve a
moderate temperature in the air, suitable to plants that are not intended to
be forced, but only to be preserved till their turn comes of being placed in the
fruiting-house.

Before potting the plants whose roots are to be renewed, the wounds that
have been made in the stock, whether by pulling off the leaves to display the
new portion of the stock which is to produce the new roots, or by removing
the little offsets which are found, when the leaves are removed, situated at
the axil of each, are allowed to dry for several days. In planting the stock,
it is plunged two thirds of its depth in the pot, and the mould is to be dry
rather than moist, because too much moisture is dangerous when vegetation
is in a state of repose. Before plunging the pots in the tan which covers the
bed, this bed must have attained a warmth of 30° of Réaumur (100° of Fahr.).
This high temperature is necessary to cause a rapid developement of the
roots. Care must be taken, in the meantime, to stop up the chinks in the
lights with moss, and to cover the lights with mats, that neither the exterior
air nor the sun may fatigue the plant. At the end of ten or fifteen days the
roots are sufficiently developed to allow of a little water being put on the
mould of the pots, and at the same time to give a little air and light. The
proportion of water for the roots, and the quantity of air and light for the
plant, increase as the roots begin to grow. At the end of two months, the
plant, abundantly provided with roots, may be set for fruiting.

In order to have ripe fruit throughout the year, the plants are distributed in
series, ranking according to size, and these series are set for fruiting succes-

20 Culture of the Pine-apple at Versailles.

sively, each in its turn, from month to month, from October to July. The
series placed in the fruiting-house in October shows fruit in December and
ripens it in June ; and the last series, which is placed in heat in July, and
which shows its fruit in October, does not ripen it till April and May, for fruit
ripens very slowly during winter. ~

As it is only at the end of two months that the plant stripped of its roots
has produced new ones in sufficient quantity to be set for fruiting, it is neces-
sary to select, long before the month of October, the plants that are to com-
pose the first series, the fruit of which is to be ready in June. Consequently,
as early as the Ist of August, those plants are selected from the frames where
they attained their growth, that appear the strongest, to form the first series.

Before being set to fruit, the plants must be kept during the winter at a
very moderate temperature. The temperature of the bed may be kept at
15° of Réaumur (66° Fahr.); that of the air may be at 15° Réaumur in
the day, and 8° Réaumur (50° Fahr.) at night. When the temperature of
the air is too high and dry, the heat causes the plants to run to fruit prema-
turely; when too high and moist, it makes the leaves grow rapidly, when
the light of the short days is not sufficient to colour them. For those plants
which are to be preserved till their turn arrives of being put into the fruiting-
house, the heat of the dung alone placed outside the shelter is more fayour-
able than the heat of the fire.

Watering should be very moderate during the six months of winter. During
this time the roots only are to be watered ; and to prevent wetting the leaves,
and particularly the heart of the plant, which would be liable to perish if the
water which may have fallen on it were not removed by a pipe, the watering
is effected by means of a funnel, under which there is a horizontal tube formed
of several pieces, which carries the water to the most distant plants.

4, Shelter. IF ruiting-house, where the plants are placed to show fruit.

This hothouse should be large to contain .a great deal of air, it ought to
be raised above the soil to be very dry ; besides, the glass of the sashes must
be renewed from time to time, for the action of the light through new glass is
as necessary to induce the plant to show fruit, as the action of the dry air and
the heat of the fire.

The bed should be new to be very warm, and composed of new dung mixed
with leaves to preserve the:heat for a long time. It is covered with a bed of
tan, in which the pots are plunged. -During the two months which elapse
before the plant shows its fruit, and also during the time of flowering, the
roots should be at a temperature of 30° of Réaumur (100° of Fahr.), but not
higher; at 40° Réaumur (122° Fahr.) the roots would perish. A thermo-
meter enclosed in a metal tube, and plunged as low as the pots, indicates the
temperature. 3

When the soil round the roots is at the temperature of 30° Réaumur (100°
Fahr.), the air may be also at 30° Reaumur during the day, and at 20° Reéau-
mur (77° Fahr.) during the night. This temperature, which m the sunk and
damp shelter would make the leaves of the plants grow too much, does not
produce the same effect upon the same plants placed in the fruiting-house.
The dry heat of this hothouse stops by degrees the growth of the leaves in
proportion as the parts of fructification are developed. The offsets are deve-
loped also, and sometimes too numerously : therefore, to prevent them absorb-
ing for their own use the sap which was to nourish and swell the fruit, care is
taken, after having removed those reserved for multiplication, to prevent the
growth of the rest by pulling out the heart with a pair of nippers, long and
flat at the point.

Though the plant in the fruiting-house is exposed to a very great heat, it
is watered very little during the time it is showing fruit, and then only on the
roots. Too much fluidity in the sap, and consequently too much watering,
would excite the plant to grow and not to fruit ; but from the moment the
fruit begins to show itself in the centre of the leaves, till the period when it
has attained its full growth, the roots are watered abundantly as well as the
plant,

Cultivation of the Grape Vine. BN

“After flowering, to encourage the growth of the fruit, which the dry air of
the fruiting-house would cause to ripen prematurely, the plant is replaced in
the preceding shelter, where the more humid air and more moderate temper-
ature develope the fruit very slowly, which is indispensable, particularly during
winter.

In old hothouses, the trench which contains the manure is open within the
house. In the new ones, the opening is on the outside: a horizontal parti-
tion, placed J ft. from the top of the trench, separates the interior of the
hothouse from the interior of the trench, and thus converts the top of this
trench into a sort of large case, which, when filled with earth, may be used to
fruit plants with their roots free. The advantage of this arrangement is not
great for the queen pine and the other small varieties ; which produce as good
fruit, though the plant is kept in a pot, if this pot, though small, be well fur-
nished with new roots: but the Enville pine, the Providence pine, the hand-
some pine from Cayenne, and all the other large-fruited varieties which re-
quire a great deal of nourishment, do perfectly well with this arrangement.
Freed from their pots, and planted in this case when they have formed their
new roots, that is, towards the end of November, they continue till summer to
grow before fruiting, and acquire so much vigour, that the offsets, when not
removed, often produce fruits which may be called fine, by the side of the
enormous fruit of the parent.

When too close, the pines shade each other, and increase in height and not
in strength. To render them fit to produce fine fruit, they must be kept so
far apart at all periods of their growth, that the leaves may extend and present
their upper surface to the perpendicular action of the light: and this action is
more necessary than that of the sun’s rays ; for it does not appear that the
plants which are deprived of its direct rays, but are otherwise well lighted,
are less vigorous than those which receive its rays.

In the kitchen-garden at Versailles, the pines are placed in lines 13 ft.
apart, and generally 2 ft. between each plant in the line. Therefore, in the
shelter where the plants are grown, the frames being 12 ft. long, and rather
more than 4 ft. wide, each frame contains 24 plants, placed in 3 lines of 8
plants each. In the hothouses, the trench of each compartment 36 ft. long,
aud rather more than 5 ft. broad, contains 72 plants, in 4 lines of 18 plants
each. The same trench, if the plants belong to the large varieties, contains
only 45 plants in 3 lines of 15 plants each.

The first shelter, in which the offsets are rooted when separated from their
parent, and the third shelter, where the roots of the plants which have attained
their growth are renewed, may each be considered as temporary deposits,
where the plants vegetating but little do not require to be kept far apart.
The plants may therefore be kept more or less apart, according to the space
at disposal.

Versailles, December, 1840,

- Art. IX. On the Cultivation of the Grape Vine. From a Paper
read to the North Bristol Gardeners’ Society, in September, 1840,
by Mr. Duncan, Author of “ Culture of the Melon,” &c. Com-
munieated by Mr. Duncan.

Wrrnovut occupying time with preliminary observations, I will at once
proceed to consider the nature of the soil, &c., in vine countries, and in some
of those places in our own where it most excels. It may be assumed as a
fact, that vines under every circumstance delight in soil of permeable character ;
in vine districts it is often singularly so. Vines are planted on the ruins of
volcanoes, the roots revelling in the scoriz of ancient eruptions, and matters
accumulated in the lapse of time; on rocky precipices, and the sides of hills ;
in soils as varied as the sites are, yet suitable, because permeable, and exposed
ce 3 j

22 Cultivation of the Grape Vine.

to solar agency more than we are here. Some of the famed vineyards of the

Jontinent occupy sites similar to these, and have obtained notoriety from
circumstances of a like kind. Hence it is evident that much of the success
attending vine culture in Britain depends upon a judicious choice of site and
soil. The finest vines in the West of England grow on the sides of hills, from
south-east to south-west, in soil of a strong loamy character, invariably lying
over rocks, the mountain limestone and old red sandstone formations here,
and the primitive rocks around Bath; and an instance once occurred in my
experience, of a vine flourishing in a bed of loose rubble on the side of a hill
declining about 10 degrees. Thus it appears from these cases, that the
stratum, or bed, and the declination of the situation are important auxiliaries
in the successful growth of vines, inasmuch as both are favourable to the
admission of solar heat and escape of superfluous water, which, in connexion
with others, particularly determine the welfare of most grapes grown in Eng-
land. Samples of mould sent here from Oporto, and experiments instituted
in past years, convince of the truth of these remarks, and the experience of
practical men adds testimony to the same views. In making vine borders it is
therefore exceedingly important to have them well drained, and at a consider-
able declination. The drains here consist of a continuous mass of stonework,
the spaces between being filled with rubble, forming a complete and substantial
groundwork for future operations, when it will be productive of the first im-
portance. The border is composed as follows, namely, one part turfy sandy
loam, one part frame, or cow dung reduced into simple mould, one part road-
scrapings from great thoroughfares, and one part bones, carcasses of animals,and
similar matters, stones, and rubbish ; these, except the animal portion, should be
completely amalgamated into a homogeneous mass previously to using. The
extent and depth of soil necessary for a vine border may be known by
the lie of the ground. Ifa level or nearly level site, less depth, but if con-
siderably sloping, greater; the former at 24 ft., and the latter at 3 ft. deep,
and in both cases extending in proportion to the superficial admeasurement of
the roof of the house.

The next thing to be considered is planting vines, which is undoubtedly
best effected in the autumn of the year, or immediately after making wood in
the spring, in June. If a vine is planted in June, it will form a fine cane in
the same year ; but, if in September, it will become established for surerand more
permanent results in succeeding years. They should in each case be laid a
couple of inches deeper in the soil than they were before; and, if in September,
the roots must be carefully loosened from their matted condition, and placed
in a lateral direction in the border, and at most 3 or 4 inches under the soil.
Muscats should be planted within the house, or else in soil exclusively pre-
pared for them, of a drier nature, and in a warmer place.

With respect to the future management, there are several subjects for con-
sideration ; and however well vines may grow, and appear equal to produce a
crop of grapes, it is wrong to let them do so till they have attained a sufficient
age: the importance of a well-established plant is greater than“any consider-
ation of the former kind, unless destined for it originally. If a vine is capable
of bearing, it will appear so by the solidness and vigour of the wood, and by
the dimensions of its stem; and it is pretty evident that, in general, it will not
be in this condition under three or four years time. To obtain only a mode-
rate crop of grapes, a vine should girt 24 in. above the ground, and, if less
than this, the result will be otherwise than satisfactory.

Pruning vines is a most important process. Various systems or modes of
pruning are adopted, but it appears clear that a successional one is the best;
by which I mean a system which includes the fine buds situated at the
extremities of young shoots. Under usual management, it is impossible to do
so without endangering the developement of the lower ones, or inducing ex-
haustion by the quantity retained ; for, if the force of excitement be confined
to a single rod under equal circumstances, the spaces between the laterals
will be insufficient to admit a proper quantity of light, &c. I have hitherto
considered it best to prune at the fall of the leaf, whether it be in October or

Cultivation of the Grape Vine. 23

December. It is essential to good management, and the welfare of the tree,
to afford a long rest, in order that the wounded parts may become healed, and
the exhausted energies of the plant refreshed. The vines under my care have
been cut to the first convenient bud within the house for two seasons follow-
ing the planting, and the shoots from them have proceeded unstopped. In
the third year, these shoots were cut to three eyes or buds each; the two
lower ones to form permanent branches in the future arrangement of the tree,
and the other, or terminal one, to become a fruiting cane in the year follow-
ing. It will be necessary now, being the third year, to stop the leader some
little distance beyond, when it is intended to be left for bearing, which, in
general, will be 18 or 20 feet. In the strong-growing kinds, every third bud
is displaced, and in the short-jointed ones, Sweetwater for instance, every other
two ; the remainder will then be situated at proper distances, and in alternate
order, and the fine buds at the extremities will be preserved : the juices, being
diverted from the displaced buds, will cause a surer developement of the
retained ones, which, in conjunction with a greater portion of solar light, will
induce a vigorous and fruitful habit. The shoots at the base of the terminal
leader (intended to become permanent branches) are shortened to a few eyes
each, and the shoots proceeding from them are shortened at half the length of
the original leader. This stopping is intended to divert the current of sap,
and cause it to flow into the first leader, now bearing fruit. The same reason
may be assigned for stopping the bearing shoot itself and laterals at one joint
beyond the fruit ; for if the terminal be permitted to proceed unstopped at
this early state of bearing, the laterals at the lower part cf the stem will be
deprived of their proper quantity of nourishment, in consequence of the rapid
flow of sap towards the extremity, situated, as it is, in a warmer medium, and
in a higher position.

In the future pruning, the stems are cut to two buds each, and, when evolved,
the weaker of the two, or the one having the smaller cluster, is removed.
Muscats are sometimes cut to the third or fourth bud, but the close system of
pruning, wherein the spurs are removed entirely, is not productive of the
desired results in continued succession, because it is not in accordance with
the known principles of vegetable physiology. The original shoot in the
second year of bearing is permitted to occupy the top part of the house, and
one of those at its side enccuraged to become a fruiting cane in the following
or succeeding years ; while the other, at the opposite side, is retained in store
until the original shoot is intended to be removed, forming a system extending
over a series of years in succession, calculated to obtain fine and abundant
grapes, and a vigorous and healthy tree.

I will now proceed to explain some particulars in connexion with the
climate in vine-houses, and the casualties, &c., experienced everywhere, more
or less, where vines are cultivated. The vine is a plant that requires to be
managed according to fixed principles. A slight variation or diversion from
determined rule, or a mistimed act of unquestionable utility, is often produc-
tive of sericus consequences. Hence the propriety of simulating those funda-
mental laws of nature regulating the developement of vegetable life. The
genial showers and gradual increasing temperature of spring are no less bene-
ficial to general vegetation, than genial when imitated in a house of vines.
And when external circumstances concur with operations of forcing in houses,
they are productive of the most important advantages to vegetables under ex-
citement : consequently, it is necessary to contrive that the difference of the
temperature, internally and externally, shall be as little as possible, by covering
the roots and bole, not so much to supply heat, as to prevent the escape of
heat existing in the soil, and injury from excessive rains or frost. At the de-
velopement of the buds the temperature should be low, a perfect resemblance
to circumstances determining a similar act out of doors, gradually increasing
to 50°. A regular and abundant supply of moisture should be afforded,
both by syringing and sprinkling, for if the temperature should exceed this
amount, or water be sparingly applied, many buds situated at the hinder parts

c 4

24 Cultivation of the Grape Vine.

of the vine would hardly break at all, owing to the current of sap setting in
strongly to those buds more favourably situated. In the interval preceding
inflorescence, a considerable increase of heat may be afforded, and abundance
of air admitted; both are important in strengthening the young shoots and
embryo clusters of fruit, and prevent those discouraging symptoms of weak-
ness evinced by the decay of the clusters. During inflorescence, the tempe-
rature should be never less than 70° nor exceed 8()° Fahrenheit. Grapes
set best in a sultry atmosphere considerably charged with moisture, supplied
by insensible evaporation from pans on the flues, and by sprinklings, &c. If
the wind should be cold, or the weather unfavourable, I would advise artifi-
cial impregnation, ‘especially in the tender kinds, such as Muscats, Damascus,
Sweetwaters, &c. This is best effected by introducing a cluster of some other
kind, that can be spared, among the florets of the one intended to be impreg-
nated. Such an act will become important in the future distention of the
berries ; for it will be seen that the clusters are impregnated, and the berries

composing the cluster will be finer and more complete than others not im-,

preenated. After this, syringing should be resumed, and continued till the
berries have done growing ; but it should be tenderly effected, and with tepid
water. During the period included from impregnation to the complete de-
velopement of the berries, it is most important to close early, while yet the sun
is shining strongly, say at 2 or 3 o’clock in the afternoon ; for a high tempera-
ture, in conjunction with the vapour generated from syringing, &c., will pro-
duce results most favourable to the progress of the young fruit, the same as
Nature in her happy moods delights in. The genial showers in a summer
afternoon, under circumstances of a like kind, produce consequences precisely
similar, but greater, because more general; and so it is in houses where the
imitation is complete, and adopted to a right extent. When grapes begin to
colour, it is necessary, — yea, as important, to obtain a dry atmosphere, as it
was previously a moist one, because the change effected in grapes while
ripening is produced under the full influence of light, heat, and dryness : and
it is well known that grapes grown in dry heat, or properly managed houses,
acquire flavour superior to those grown in plant-houses, or in other places
where they cannot be taken care of. Ifthe roots of vines be situated within
the house, or a dry season should occur, a plentiful supply of water should be
given ; for though the vine flourishes in soil of open texture, and situations of
a dry nature, yet it is essential to have water, under all circumstances, suffi-
cient to dissolve and supply the food necessary for its subsistence ; this, in
some cases, is considerable. I have known as many as 200 gallons given to a
vine at two waterings while the grapes were small, and after stoning, previously
to turning colour at the last stage of developement ; and it was productive of the
best result. Hence it is important to have the use of a good pond of water,
But, at the same time, it must be borne in mind, that good drainage, or an equi-
valent, is necessary, or else the results following will be otherwise than satis-
factory.

After the berries are stoned, the temperature should be maintained at least at
70°; under the influence of light, and an advanced season, it may be more,
but the maximum, under all ordinary occurrences, should not exceed 95°.
This kind of management is necessary to the termination of the business, even
till the wood is perfectly ripe ; for it is exceedingly more important to effect
this when the sun is in the ascendant, than in the autumn when it is not so
powerful. I must not, however, be misunderstood. I do not mean that it is
not requisite to have fire heat in autumn if circumstances require it, such as
unripe wood, &c., but that it is more philosophical while the plant is still
growing, and there is more certainty of its being effected properly than at any
other period of the process.

Another point of consideration is colouring the berries : this depends upon
several contingent and important circumstances, the substantial goodness
of the border, drainage, aspect, and declination being the chief. Whatever
affects the roots or indeed any part of a vine most assuredly induces corre-
sponding results in the fruit, and want of colour may be cited as an instance.

Cultivation of the Grape Vine. 25

There are other causes, distinctly separate from the preceding, that prevent
grapes assuming a proper colour, namely, excessive cropping or superabundant
wood, and both inducing general debility ; a decrease of temperature before or
while ripening, or extremes at day and night; and want of sufficient air, light,
and space : the former may be avoided by care in the original plan and construc-
tion of the border, &c., and the latter by apportioning the quantity of fruit
and extent of wood to the real vigour of the tree, by a continuance of fire
heat, when necessary, till the temperature in general equals the minimum
amount required at night (this will seldom occur till the latter end of June or
beginning of July). Admit air at every reasonable opportunity, and invariably
sooner in the morning than under ordmary management ; and, lastly, let every
branch occupy sufficient space, the extremities of the leaves be everywhere
separate from each other, and a proper interval between the spurs.

In corroboration of a part of the previous statement, I will mention an in-
stance which occurred here for several successive years. In forcing an old
house of vines, we admit a continual current of air at the end where the fire
enters ; in fact, it is necessary to maintain the temperature at both ends nearly
alike. At this end of the house, invariably, until.the present year, have been
the most abundant, finest, and best-coloured grapes: but in the present year
the case has been materially different, in consequence of Dr. Arnott’s stove
being situated at the other end, which avoided the necessity of admitting
air in the usual place and to the usual extent. The result of this experiment
was satisfactory, inasmuch as the difference in the quality of the grapes was
inappreciable, and totally dissimilar to the experience of former years. It is
necessary also, in admitting air, to do so with some regard to the amount of
difference between it and the temperature of the house. Some contrivance
should be formed to make the difference as small as possible, by making it
pass through a warmer medium, sheds, &c., or apertures at some convenient
distances from the foliage, or through wire or other network. The best-
coloured grapes that I have seen in the present year are fully exposed to light,
and the air is admitted through a doorway of an adjoining house, and escapes at
the light beyond where the vine is situated. Good grape-growers seldom
allow a direct current of air, except in extremely warm weather, and even then
never through a doorway, unless it be situated at the hinder section of the
house, because the temperature there is generally higher than in front ; and to
admit air in front, unless in fayourable weather, would cause a difference in the
two places very considerable and of some importance.

In conclusion, I will notice the cause of the shriveling or decay of the
peduncular attachment of grapes, and cracking of the berries just previously
~ to turning colour. Both arise, or may be induced, by one or more of several
unfavourable circumstances happening in certain periods of a vine’s develope-
ment, and from some important particulars deficient where the vine is planted.
Whatever hinders the full access of solar heat and light, or determines the
temperature of the soil much less than the temperature of the air, weakens
the principle of vitality. Excessive cropping and superfluous wood will do the
same, and is the more inexcusable as it can easily be avoided, while some other
equally decisive, though not so general, causes, induce the same almost unac-
countably ; for instance, « low temperature after a high one, while the grapes
are ripening, often occurring in summer forcing, from the disuse of fires prior
to the nights becoming warm. Excess of moisture prevailing,.unaccompanied
with a proper degree of heat, will be exceedingly injurious to vegetable sus-
ceptibility : if a little antecedent to this, it will be evinced by a disruption of the
cuticle of the berry at the time, shriveling, and general decay of detached por-
tions, and the whole of some kinds. During the period of ripening, com-
mencing from the first appearance of turning colour, the atmosphere should be
more than ever pure, and at that standard of dryness and warmth necessary
for the perfect developement of the fruit. Further, if the wood of vines has
not been ripened well in the year preceding, or, in other words, if the elabora-
tion of juices has been incomplete, the quantity of secreted matters will be
less, the buds less stored, and the wood immature, most assuredly unequal to

26 Destruction of Mice in Cucumber Frames.

the task of ripening, however well other circumstances may accord ; for the
very principle of life itself seems weakened by the effort made, and a repetition
of similar management to this injures more vines than is generally imagined.
Some kinds of grapes being more hardy than others, are less liable to misfor-
tune than others ; Muscadine and Esperione, for instance. Some are liable in
an extreme degree, and become spoiled from circumstances that would not
affect other kinds: such are Frontignans, Muscats, Syrian, &c. A few are
happily situated at a medium, remarkable for their goodness and adaptation to
general use, though not partaking of the extreme qualities famous to the Mus-
cats and Frontignans: these are Black Hamburg, Dutch black Hamburg
(said to be a grape of first quality), West’s St. Peter’s, Tripoli, Damascus, &c.
One other I will mention, a Frontignan, a grape of the very best character,
something resembling the Dutch Sweetwater in appearance; when ripe, of a
beautiful amber hue, and the rich muskiness of the Frontignans is pre-
eminent here. The clusters are closely set, and moderately large, the berries
being considerably larger than any other of the Frontignan family. It is not
known under a recognised nomenclature here, unless it be Chasselas Musqué,
or is probably a seedling of former times undescribed. It is, as far as my
knowledge extends, confined to this place. The entire stock has been pre-
sented to the proprietors of the Durdham Down Nursery, of whom plants
may be had in the following spring. I had intended to have entered into some
other particulars, but this paper is already sufficiently long.
Near Bristol, October, 1840.

Art. X. On the Destruction of Mice in Cucumber Frames.
By J. WiGHTON.

In the spring of the present year, 1840, the cucumber plants
under my care were much injured by having their shoots and
fruit cut off. At first, I thought slugs did the injury, but I
soon found something more mischievous, for the shoots were cut
through, as if eaten by mice. I destroyed several mice, and
amongst them two of the shrew kind, suspecting the latter to
have done the injury, but the mischief done to the plants was as
great as ever. After several fruitless attempts to discover my
pests, at last I caught a mouse, quite of a different kind from
those previously mentioned; it was the short-tailed field mouse.
I found he and his neighbours were the real enemies I sought
for, and thought that now my troubles would soon be at an end,
as I could easily destroy these little vermin. I soon found, how-
ever, that was not so easy a task as I thought; the plants still
were destroyed, and all my endeavours to poison or entrap my
enemies were fruitless, owing to their not eating food greedily
like common mice. Seeing this, and knowing their haunts to be
in woods and fields, I suspected their principal food to be vege-
tables and roots: in this I was not mistaken; for when I put
some roots of the Bunium flexudsum, or earth nut, amongst the
cucumber plants, they were soon eaten up. After that, I found
no trouble in destroying them with traps baited with earth nuts.

Buffon describes the mouse I have noticed, and says “ it is very
plentiful in some parts of France, where it often damages corn
by cutting through the stems to get at the ears, by bringing
them down. I consider that when they cut off my cucumber

Culture of the Early Horn Carrot. 27

plants it was in search of moisture, for when I placed water in
the beds the injury done was less. The difficulty I had to con-
tend with was, the finding what food the mice would eat. Ihave
taken notice of it, for it may be of use to others that may have
the bad luck to get a visit from such vermin; for it is really
vexing to have cucumbers destroyed in such a manner, es-
pecially in the month of March.
Cossey Hall Gardens, Nov. 24. 1840.

Art. XI. On the Culture of the Early Horn Carrot. By J. Seymour,
Kitchen-Gardener to the Countess of Bridgewater at Ashridge.

Accorpine to promise, I send you a few remarks on the Early
Horn Carrot, as to weight, size, productiveness, and clearness
of the roots, &c. |

By referring to my diary, I find my crop of this year was
sown on the 30th of March, in rows 1 ft. apart, and the alleys
2 {t. wide; and that they were taken up on the 2d of Novem-
ber. I let these remain longer in the ground than I usually
do, to see the difference of the roots as respecting the attacks
of the wireworms.

I have grown them upon the same piece of ground this year
that I have used since 1837; andas to flavour, appearance, &Xc.,
you can decide by the roots that [have sent you.. I have not
selected the largest roots, considering that they would be large
enough for the purpose intended. Amongst the roots you will find
one eaten by vermin, to about 3 in. of the top; there was in one
bed about one square yard eaten in the same way. I thought it
had been perhaps a grass mouse or shrew; but not being able
to find any holes near the spot, I am quite at a loss to know
what animal it can have been. In all the roots that were eaten,
they had been begun at the very extremity of the root, and
worked upwards to within two or three inches of the top. The
teeth-marks resemble those of a mouse. ‘There were several
roots eaten some distance off close by the surface of the ground;
these I considered to be the grass mouse, as there were two or
three caught close by.

The piece of ground measured was 1,290 square feet, and it
produced 2,550 lb. of roots, or 1 ton 2 cwt. 3 qrs. 2 lbs. making
a produce of 38 tons 8 cwt. 11 lb. per acre.

One root (sent) was 10 in. in length, 10 in. in circumference,
and weighed 1 lb. 6 oz.; 2d root was 16 in. in length, 10 in. in
circumference, and weighed 13 1b.; 3d, 143 in. in length, 92 in.
in circumference, and weighed 1 lb. 5 0z.; 4th, 1 ft. long, 102 in.
in circumference, and weighed 13lb. ‘There was a very small
taproot, from 3 in. to 6in. in length, attached to these roots ;
they were washed, and the tops cut quite close to the root.

28 Antoine’s Conifere.

I have grown the Altringham long orange, Surrey long, and
the New white Altringham, but I prefer the Karly Horn for a
garden, much before the other sorts, as it grows to a better size
for the table, and in my opinion is of a much better flavour ; and,
as to keeping, it keeps more firm with me than the larger sorts.

I sent up to London good old carrots in May and June for the
family. (See my method of keeping, &c., Gardener's Magazine
for 1840, p. 207.)

I would strongly recommend the New white Altringham for
field culture, as I find there is greater weight on the same space
of ground than of any other carrot I know. One root of the
white, 1 ft. 3in. in length, 10?in. in circumference, weighed
2\b.20z. One root of the Altringham, | ft. 4 in. long, 9 in.
in circumference, weighed 1 lb. 6 oz. ‘Two roots ditto, 3 ft. 5 in.
in length, 10in. in circumference, weighed 15 oz. (together).
One root of Surrey long, 1 ft. 2 in. in length, 10 in. in circum-
ference, and weighed 1 lb. 14 0z.

These roots are about a medium size, the tops off and washed.
It must be understood that this is not a carrot soil about here, it
being very cold, and containing a great many flints. The sub-
soil is a very strong red clay, and sometimes chalk is found
within a few inches of the surface. Let me add, that where my
carrots grew was made soil, and of a good depth, and that it
lies very low. I hope that this may lead to larger trials of the
Early Horn, and I hope to see the results of the trials mentioned
in your Magazine.

Frithsden Gardens, Ashridge, Nov. 16. 1840.

REVIEWS.

ArT.I. Die Coniferen nach Lambert, Loudon und anderen. Frey
bearbeitet von Franz Antoine. The Coniferze after Lambert,
Loudon, and others. Newly composed by F. Antoine, with plates.
No. I. pp. 20, folio, 4 plates. Vienna, 1840. Price 4s. plain,
and 6s. coloured. ‘To be completed in 8 or 9 Numbers.

Tue author has been induced to undertake this work from the important rank
which the Coniferz hold in nature, in our northern hemisphere, and also in
forest culture, and in the planting of parks and pleasure-grounds. As the
Coniferee have hitherto been described only in very expensive works, his
object is to produce a book which shall be within the reach of every culti-
vator; and, for this purpose, he has had recourse to all the recent works, and
more especially to those mentioned in his titlepage; and he has made the
drawings, and lithographed them himself, by which means he can offer his
book at the low price above-named.

The work commences with Sect. 1. Leaves in Pairs; and the species he
describes and figures in his first No. are: 1. Pinus sinénsis Lamd., Arb. Brit.
iv. p. 2264.; 2. P. britia Ten., A. B.iv. p. 2234.; 3. P. halepénsis Avzé.,
A. B. iv. p. 2231.; 4. P. pyrenaica Lap., A. B. iv. p.2209.; 5. P. Laricio
Poir, A. B. iv. p. 2200.; 6. P. resinosa Soland., A. B. iv. p. 2210.; 7. P.
Banksidna Lamb., A. B. iv. p. 2190.; 8. P.sylvéstris Lin., A. B. iv. p. 2153. ;
9. P. uncinata Ramond, A. B. iv. p. 2187.; 10. P. pumilio Henke, A. B

Grigor’s Eastern Arboretum. 29

vy. p.2186.; 11. P. variabilis Lamb., A. B. iv. p. 2243.; 12. P. mitis Mich.
A. B. iv. p. 2195. ; 13. P. inops Ai., A. B. iv. p. 2192.; 14. P. ptngens
tichewAebre ivan peo lOde lose wlcinaster Arc). Aap Bemlvenp.) 223. -puand
16. P. Pinea Lin., A. B. iv. p. 2224.

In a letter, which accompanied the copy of the work kindly presented to
us by M. Antoine, he says, “ A journey which I made some time ago to
the Snow Mountain and its environs in Styria, near Vienna, confirms my
opinion, that the three so-called species, Pinus Laricio Pow., P. austriaca
Henke, P. Pallasiana Lamb., are only varieties, differmg from P. Laricio,
as the type, according to soil and situation. For instance, you can find some
individuals with the habit exactly like that of P. Pinea, if the tree grows on
rocks; but if the tree grows on a loose rich soil, it assumes a pyramidal shape,
like P. Strobus, with long leaves. Dr. Unger of the Johanneum at Gratz,
and Dr. Grisebach of Genoa, are of the same opinion with me respecting
P. Uaricio. P. pumilio I found on the Snow Mountain in Styria in great
abundance. On the lower region, where it is mixed with A‘bies excélsa,
this pine has the original shape of P. pumilio Henke : higher up the whole
plant is diminished to the height of only 2 or 3 feet ; its leaves are very short,
and the cones very small. This, I think, is your P. carpatica, or P. pumilio
nana. On the highest region, P. pumilio produces no cones, but sometimes
abundance of male flowers, the plant growing not higher than 8 or 10 inches,
and the branches lying along the surface of the soil or rocks, and not more
than 3 or 4 feet in length.” This corresponds with what Dr. Martius told
us, when we were at Munich, in 1828, respecting P. pumilio on the highest
eround in Bavaria, and which Dr. Martius was fully convinced was only a
variety of P. sylvéstris.

The titlepage to this work isa fanciful composition, which may rank in point
of taste with that of Bateman’s Orchidacee ; and the plates, which are in the
first number limited to the cones and leaves, seeds, scales, and male blossoms,
are in general faithful copies of the originals in Lambert. That which is
least like nature is the cone of P. Laricio var. Pallasidna, in plate 1. This
cone is readily known from that of all the other species or varieties in the
section to which it belongs, by the tips of the scales being flattened. The
bud of P. Laricio and its varieties, however, is a sure mark of distinction,
as it differs widely from that of al] other pines.

M. Antoine deserves great credit for his endeavours to spread a knowledge
of this interesting and important order of trees, and we trust he will be
patronised by arboriculturists in this country as well as in Germany.

Arr. II. The Eastern Arboretum, or Rural Register of all the
remarkable Trees, Seats, Gardens, &c., in the County of Norfolk.
By James Grigor. [Illustrated by drawings of trees, etched on
copper. Nos. V., VI., and VII. 8vo. London and Norwich.
1s. each Number.

Tue preceding numbers of this interesting work were examined in p. 601.
and 665. of our volume for the past year, and we now return to it with
much pleasure, because Mr. Grigor is a man after our own heart. Blickling
Park was commenced in Number tv., and the account of it extends to
Numbery. The park and pleasure-grounds comprise about 1000 acres, finely
wooded with pines, firs, cedars, and planes. An Eastern plane has a trunk
9 ft. 9in. in circumference, with a head covering a space 78 yards in circum-
ference. A pinaster is 65 ft. high, with a trunk 104 ft. in circumference.
A Scotch pine, 70 ft. high, has a trunk 14 ft. in circumference at 1 ft. from
the ground ; it is supposed to be the largest tree of this species in Norfolk.
Tn the kitchen-garden is an espalier tree of the Harbord pippin, which covers
a space 28 yards in length, and bears plentifully every year. An oak is

30 Grigor’s Eastern Arboretum.

70 ft. high, with a smooth trunk at 32 ft., and it contains 6 loads of timber.
Another has a clear stem of 40ft., and contains 7 loads of timber. The
sweet chestnut trees are of noble dimensions.

“ On the north side of the lake, close to the edge of the water, are the
remains of an oak, hollow and open on all sides, the trunk of which measures
the unusual circumference of 24{t, This is apparently the oldest tree, re-
taining any trace of life, upon the estate.

* Upon the whole, we consider Blickling one of the finest seats in the
county. It possesses many natural advantages, which have been turned to
good account both by the present and former possessors. Its beauties are

carefully preserved under a pure and enthusiastic taste ; and we repeat that,
looking upon it from a certain point on the pleasure-ground, nothing can
possibly surpass the lovely and diversified landscape which it exhibits. It is a
place which judges of gardening describe as well kept. There is nothing in
this respect to offend even the most critical ; and whilst every thing new, cal-
culated to adorn and beautify, finds a place. here, the objects eich already
grace this seat — the venerable chiefs of the field — are cared for and watched
over with great interest.”

Our Trees. No. 4.—Under this head some noble cedars of Lebanon are de-
scribed, and an engraving is given of a magnificent specimen at Stratton
Strawless.

Wolterton Park ; the Seat of the Earl of Orford. —The house was reck-
oned in Walpole’s time one of the best in England, and Mr. Grigor de-
scribes the park and pleasure-grounds as of “ varied excellence.” An
engraving is given of a magnificent beech with its branches feathering to the
er ound. It is 65 ft. high, with a trunk 16 ft, in girt.

“ The present noble proprietor, whose taste “for trees is well known, has
distinguished this place above many others, by ferming in it collections of trees
and shrubs belonging to the genera Pinus, Abies, Cupressus, Schubertia, Arau-
caria, Erica, Crateegus, and Ilex. The collection in the pinetum is very
complete, including specimens of the Deodara pine 9 ft. in height. The
Araucaria excelsa, or Brazilian pine, as it is called here, rises to the height of
9 ft. 9 in., and bears the rigour of winter with a very slight protection. “Such
arboretums are of endless ‘interest, displaying how far trees of foreign coun-
tries are adapted to this climate ; their comparative growth, outline, and

specific character; their adaptation, consequently, to particular localities, —
in short, their whole history with regard to the district where they are situ-
ated. Without such a collection, grouped under proper divisions, with the
age, size, and height each individual plant attains to in its native place, its
particular habitation therein, and every other circumstance of interest con-
nected with it, trees lose half their charms, and form but an unmeaning
profusion of beautiful forms. This arboretum, then, may be looked for ward
to with interest. Twenty years hence, the trees will have become perfect,
and their character and worth ascertained.”

Barningham Park ; J. T, Mott, Esq.—A beautiful and ancient seat, embel-
lished with fine timber trees. It is our duty as well as our delight, says Mr.
Grigor, “to make honourable mention of the very elegant manner in which this
place is kept. Its order and neatness are observable in every department,
and in none more conspicuously than in the scenes of tie garden and pleasure-
grounds.”

“ The whole appearance of this place reminds us of the fruit and culinary
gardens of the Scotch nobility ; for it is a well-known fact, that, whilst the
English excel in the pleasure-ground or ornamental department, their
northern neighbours have a superior taste In managing the parle where
the more profitable and useful products are reared. “This, then, in our
opinion, may be considered a model-garden, where the youthful ‘who are
anxious to learn will find much to admire and copy.

An etching is given of a very elegant lime tree, and due praise is given to
the gardener, Mr. Cockburn.

Grigor’s Eastern Arboretum. 31
g

Felbrigg Park ; W. H. Windham, Esq. —“ A magnificent place, surrounded
by some of the fairest fields in England, and made dark and solemn in some
instances by umbrageous timber trees.” An etching is given of a very mag-
nificent walnut. “ Such parks are England’s badge.” In the kitchen-garden
are a Breda apricot, and a Genoa fig, both of a hundred years’ standing. Tne
apricot covers a space of 612 square feet, and bears from 60 to 90 dozens of
fruit yearly. Mr. Robins, the gardener, is a celebrated grower of pine-apples.
It was at Felbrigg that Mr. Kent, author of Hints to Gentlemen of Landed
Property, and the founder of an office for the valuation and management of
landed property, in Craig’s Court, Charing Cross, London, began his career
as land-steward.

Cromer Hall; H. Baring, Esq.— An elegant mansion, situated upon an
eminence, almost on the verge of the British ocean, environed by a vegetable
throng of such beauty and vigour, that we are almost apt to forget that the
sea breezes have any prejudicial effect upon trees and shrubs.” (p.130.) An
ash, 75ft. high, girts 10 ft. at the ground ; a Scotch pine has a trunk 7 ft. in
circumference; asweet chestnut 9 ft. ; and an oak 13 ft. 6 in.

Gunton Park ; Lord Suffield—*“ One of the older retreats in the county,
surrounded by wide-spreading plantations and extensive parks.” An etching
is given of a remarkably fine yew: at 1 ft. from the ground it girts 6 ft. 1 in.,
and at 5ft. it girts 6{t. 8 in.; it is 35 ft. high, and covers a circle of 45 yards
round.

There is a lofty avenue of beech trees, and the varieties of the English oak
are exceedingly numerous ; some of them being of a dark green colour, with
leaves deeply lobed and in bunches [doubtless Quércus pedunculata], whilst
others are of a lighter colour and very slightly notched [doubtless Q. sessili-
flora]. Many of the beeches have stems 40 ft. in length and 13 ft. in circum-
ference at the ground ; but the most celebrated tree is the “ Great Oak,”
the “ King of Thorpe,” to be hereafter mentioned.

Horsford Hall; Mrs. Day. —“ In ancient times a place of great note.”
A Scotch pine here is 65 ft. high, with a trunk 9 ft. in circumference ; an oak
covers a circle 85 yards round, and an English elm is 70 ft. high, with a trunk
12 ft. in circumference.

Felthorpe Park; J. Geldart, Esq.— A place rich in trees, and formed within
the last 17 years out of some of the poorest land in Norfolk, and affording
an admirable example to possessors of “‘ poor and miserable spots.”

“Tn visiting such a place, the following reflections naturally suggest
themselves to us, namely, — That the nature of trees is beginning to be un-
derstood ; and, consequently, that a great proportion of the waste land in
our country may be converted either into fruitful fields, or made to assume
the appearance of fertility. So lately as forty years ago the oak tree was
assigned to rich sheltered valleys, and there only; and if any one had been
bold enough in those times to have planted it elsewhere, he would have been
subjected to the ridicule of his neighbours. We trust the time is at hand
when, so far as regards the hardy trees of Britain, there will be less distinc-
tion made as to soil or situation ; not that we do not believe that certain soils
are favourable to the growth of particular species of trees, but because the
fancied partiality of all trees to certain soils has deterred many from planting
altogether. It is now a well-known fact, that if sheltered when young, an oak
will grow almost anywhere, and that a sycamore will grow on any land with-
out shelter.

“ Generally speaking, however, a seat such as this is, and on such soil, so
completely wooded and so elegant in many of its traits, is only to be realised
by considerable care and expense.”

Booton Hall; 8. Bircham, Hsq.—“ A wide-spread park graced by some
noble trees, which are chiefly of the oak kind.” These oak trees “ display an
endless variety of form and hue ; some of them presenting a pendulous character ,
others of a fastigiate outline ; whilst as to leaves, some are lanceolate, some
entire, and others again deeply lobed and of an evergreen colour. In fact,

3g Grigor’s Eastern Arboretum.

there are no bounds to the varicties that may be discovered in this plantation,
and we have no doubt that, when the foliage is about to fall, the contrasts
will be still more apparent.”

Our Trees, No. 5., is a chapter on the yew tree. In former times, when
yew hedges were very much planted, it was of great consequence to select
plants with leaves of the same shade of green, and for this purpose varieties
with a fine deep shining green foliage are directed by the Dutch writers to be
propagated by cuttings.

“When this plan is adopted,” Mr. Grigor observes, “ shoots of nine
inches in length should be selected either in the month of April or August,
taking care to cut them immediately below the last year’s growth, so that a
small portion of the wood which is two years old may adhere to each.
If this be attended to they will strike root more readily. The lower leaves
should betrimmed off at bottom, and the slips planted in a sheltered and shady
border of light sandy soil. In the course of two years they will be suffi-
ciently rooted to be removed into nursery lines, where they may remain for
two years more previous to their final transplantation. If the plants are to
be raised from seeds, which is the process most generally adopted, the berries
should be gathered in October and immediately sown in very loose friable soil,
in such land as is likely to retain these qualities for two years or more, for
the plants will not all appear till the second spring ; and if the seeds be placed
in firm clayey soil, the likelihood is that it becomes so hardened by the weather
that no vegetating power can break through it, and, consequently, a very
meagre crop is the result.”’

Flaverland Park ; E. Fellowes, Esq., 14.P.—A splendid mansion in the
Italian style of architecture is now being erected here, and the grounds “are
to be remodelled by a landscape-gardener of some note of the present day—
at least, so far as this county is concerned.” The park is rich in old trees,
* some of them most wonderful vegetable structures, especially U’lmus mon-
tana glabra : but the finest tree on the estate is an alder, of which an etching
is given: it is 62 ft. high, with a trunk at one foot from the ground, 11 ft.
7 in. m circumference.

* It is an upright well-proportioned tree, and is, perhaps, the finest specimen
of the kind in England. The next largest recorded trees of this species are
in the Bishop of Durham’s park at Bishop Auckland, one of which measures
11 ft. in girt.

* At a residence already exhibiting the signs of unusual magnificence, we
trust that a portion of the park will be set apart for that most interesting
and indispensable accompaniment to every gentleman’s seat —an arboretum.
By an arboretum, we mean a collection of all the trees that will stand the
rigour of a British winter arranged in natural groups — a great congregation
of the grand objects that adorn our country, whether in forests, fields, or
cultivated gardens, brought together so that their beautiful and diversified
characters may be seen and studied as if ina museum. The most of our ex-
tensive seats, formed within the last few years, have a portion of their plea-
sure-ground devoted to this important object.”

Westwick Park ; Jack Petre, Esq.—Celebrated for its pinasters, which cover
extensive tracts of country, and for number, height, and bulk, are not ex-
celled in England.

“ The wonder to a stranger is, whence such a quantity of plants could
have been brought, and why so many soft-wooded trees should be raised in
preference to the Pinus sylvestris, which produces infinitely superior timber.”

A very interesting account is given of these trees, which we would abridge,
did we not believe that every person at all interested in the subject would
procure the work. There is a pear tree with a trunk 9 ft. in circumference,
and a Portugal laurel with a stem 5 ft. in circumference. “ The horticulturist
and florist will be equally delighted in visiting this seat, the general excel-
lence of which must strike every one.”’

The Oak Tree at Thorpe Market.—This tree has been already mentioned.
The engraving here given on a folding plate is very characteristic. |The tree

Fowlds’s, Young's, and Gregory's Catalogues. 33

is erect and exceeding well balanced ; it is 70 ft. high, with a trunk of 42 ft.:
in its circumference at 1 ft. from the ground it is 21 ft. 6in. Mr. Grigor thinks
that there are few, if any, oaks which excel this tree in England.

Sall Park; Sir R. P. Jodrell, Bart.— The park scenery is exceedingly
pleasant, and contains some fine trees, especially a lofty and beautiful beech.

Heydon Park ; W. HE. Lytton Bulwer, Esq. — A very ancient place, in which
“all that a pure and enlightened taste would have suggested has been carried
into effect. He who expects to find here the usual routine of park shrubbery,
pleasure-ground, and the gay parterre sparkling in summer’s beauty, will be
disappointed. Such is not its character. It is of that grave and almost me-
lancholy appearance which thick woody scenes brought near to the mansion
usually confer — full of ancestral remnants. The visitor of Heydon will at
once be impressed, we think, with the peculiar feature by which we have
considered it is so much characterised —that of pensive grandeur. The
entire place is a testimony of the wonderful effect which trees produce on a
surface like that of Norfolk, which in general is naturally uninteresting.”

Hoveton Park ; Mrs. Burroughes. —“ A seat of general excellence,” re-
markably well laid out, and highly kept. ‘ The whole place is so judiciously
laid out, that we hazard the opinion that it has been done by some one who
has become eminent in his profession.”

Scottow Park; Sir H. Durrant, Bart. — A seat with many traits of beauty,
and some fine trees. A pyracantha covers a space on the walls of some
outbuildings 24: yards in length, and is clad with large bunches of brilliant
scarlet berries in November. | We may observe that it is rather remarkable
that this thorn is not more frequently grafted standard high on the cockspur
thorn ; or perhaps C. mexicana would be preferable as a stock, from being
subevergreen. “ The kitchen-garden is celebrated for its great espalier-tree.
Its high wall, which is reckoned the finest in Norfolk, is covered with wide-
spreading vines.”

Our Trees. —No.6. The WeepingiWillow. There are many fine specimens
in Norfolk: one raised from the St. Helena specimen, in the garden of John
Stracy, Esq., at Sprowston Lodge,is 27 ft. high, with a stem 3 ft. 6 in. in girt.

On the whole, this is a most delightful book of its kind ; it improves much
as it proceeds, and more especially in the engravings, of which the number
given is so considerable, that we are surprised at the low price at which the
work is sold. We should think it could hardly fail to find its way into the
library of every lover of trees.

Art. IU. Catalogue of Ornamental Plants grown and sold by Fowlds
and Lymburn, Nurserymen, Seedsmen, and Florists, 36. Portland
Street, Kilmarnock. Single sheet, 1840-1.

Select List of Hardy Trees, Shrubs, Ligneous Climbers, and Green-~
house Plants, cultivated and Sold by William Young, of the Milford
Botanical and Floricultural Nursery, near Godalming, Surrey.
Single sheet, 1840-1.

Catalogue of Nursery Stock, comprising Forest, Fruit, and Ornamen-
tal Trees and Shrubs, Stove, Green-house, and Herbaceous Plants,
Florists’ Flowers, &c., cultivated by William Gregory, Cirencester,
Gloucestershire. Pamph. 1840-1.

In each of these catalogues an endeavour has been made, and, as far as we

can judge, successfully, to adjust the nomenclature to that of our Arboretum

Britannicum. The collections of ornamental trees and shrubs in these three

nurseries, stationed in widely different parts of the country, surpass those of
1841.— I, 3d Ser. D

34, Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc.

most of the London nurseries ; indeed we might almost say of any of them,
except those of Hackney and Fulham The truth is, that land and labour are
so much higher in the neighbourhood of London than they are in the pro-
vinces, that the metropolitan nurserymen, now that the prices of all plants
have fallen so low, cannot afford to grow complete collections. The public
are gainers by this change in price, and it matters little to them whether they
buy in townor country ; and the nurserymen, as a body, are no losers, because
orders which a London nurseryman cannot execute from his own grounds,
he can always, by means of such catalogues as those now before us, execute
by procuring the plants from his friends in the country. The formation of
collections in so many places throughout the country cannot fail greatly to
increase the growing taste for trees and shrubs, which are the only permanent
and independent (we mean comparatively independent of care and culture)
ornaments of parks and pleasure-grounds.

By comparing these three catalogues with one another, it will be found that
each contains several articles that are not in either of the other two, and
hence from the other two each may be enriched.

Art. IV. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany,
Rural Architecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of those
considered the more interesting.

Rustic Architecture. The picturesque and pleasing Appearance of rough
Wood, Thatch, &c., when applied as the only Decorations of rural Build-
ings, illustrated by 42 zincographic Drawings, consisting of Plans, Ele-
vations, Sections, and Perspective Views; the Doors, Windows, Chimney
Shafts, &c., drawn geometrically to a large scale, with a Description and
the estimated Cost of each Design. By T. J. Ricauti, Architect. Printed
for, and published by, the Author, at his Office, No. 26. Foley Place; and
to be procured through any Bookseller. London, 1840.

We have repeatedly and strongly recommended this elegant and useful work
to our readers. The sixth and last part, now before us, brings it to a con-
clusion, and we can safely say that we think no gentleman who purchases it
will be disappointed. The total number of plates is 42; and each is carefully
described, with estimates and other details, as noticed in the titlepage.

The British Almanack ; and the Companion to the Almanack for 1841. 12mo.
Price 4s,

Among the various matters in the Companion, interesting to the British
gardener, the first we shall notice is an act past in August last, empowering
the Duke of Marlborough to raise 25,000/. on mortgage, for the purpose of
repairing Blenheim Palace; and also to cut down and sell timber at the rate
of 1000/. a year, for the purpose of paying the interest of the money borrowed.
We trust the present duke will exhibit more taste in laying out this money
than his predecessor, who, independently of allowing many parts of the place
to go to decay, ruined the effect of the pleasure-grounds by covering the
surface too uniformly with trees and shrubs. The first grand step in the im-
provement of Blenheim will be to undo great part of what has been done.

Chap. xx. is on public improvements, and is written with the usual taste
and knowledge which have for several years past characterised this part of the
Companion. The London cemeteries are described, and one is noticed as
in progress at Winchester. Several public schools are noticed ; and engravings
given of the Camberwell National Schools, and of Lady Owen’s School,
Goswell Road. Both are very handsome, and it is not a little gratifying to
see schools keeping pace with churches and theatres.

The Derby Arboretum is noticed with discriminating taste and judgment.

General Notices. 835

«We will not say that hitherto too much attention has been paid to the
physical necessities of the poorer and labouring classes,” says the writer, “but
unquestionably too little has been bestowed upon their mental ones, as if they
were unworthy of being indulged with any kind of amusement except the
brief and riotous one of a holiday or fair; which being the case, it is not
matter of surprise, however much it may be for regret, that the bulk of the
population in manufacturing and other large towns should have no relish for
simple quiet recreations, or derive any gratification either from natural
beauties or from those of art. Through the beneficent liberality of Mr.
Joseph Strutt, Derby has been enabled to set an example to other towns in
the kingdom; that gentleman having bestowed these pleasure-grounds on the
corporation, upon the condition that they shall be open to all classes of the
public without payment (and subject only to such restrictions and regulations
as may be found necessary for the observance of order and decorum), on
every Sunday, and also on one other day in every week, from sunrise to
sunset.” (p. 251.)

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

Art. I. General Notices.

THE Gardener's Book Society of Croydon consists of about twenty gardeners,
who subscribe 6d. per month, which enables them to purchase most of the
gardening and some of the botanical periodicals. Societies of this kind.
might be formed in all towns having populous neighbourhoods, and persons
would frequently be found to join them who are not professional gardeners
but only amateurs. The West London Gardeners’ Association has set a
noble example in this respect for the larger towns, and the Croydon Society
for the smaller, and for the villages. Nothing is to be done in gardening in the
present day without constant reading, and vigilant watching of all that is
going forward, — Cond.

Botane Garden Reports of new Trees and Shrubs. —1 have been thinking
that you should urge your claim upon all the botanic gardens, and other public
gardens, for making an annual report of all the new hardy trees or shrubs raised
in them, like that made by me. I certainly am surprised that this has not
been done before this by the curators of these gardens, Mr. Cameron being
the only one who has even attempted any thing of the sort. I think if such
reports were annually given, they would be the means of making many plants
known which remain in obscurity for years; they would also confer a be-
nefit on the trade, by letting them know where such plants were to be had ;
and would show how much each garden contributed, in the way of novel or
useful plants, to the general collection of the country ; and all of us would
be greatly benefited by such. As it would be but once a year, there could
be no excuse in not having time; and there is always means of obtaining the
names, and particularly now when we have postage cheap. I shall always
be happy to render any assistance in my power, to any person, in comparing
specimens with those in the Society’s collection, or in letting them know if
they are new to me, provided that this is not attended with any expense
tome. I leave the subject now in your hands. — George Gordon. Horticul-
tural Society’s Garden, Chiswick, Nov. 21. 1840.

Cucumber and Melon Culture. —1I am about to publish my system of cu-
cumber and melon culture, on the trellis, in a brick pit that I had erected
here about four years since. It is impervious to steam, and easily heated and
managed, so much so, that with ordinary attention success is certain, and the
cucumber brought to the greatest perfection at any season. I have growh
the melon on the trellis in a pit on the same construction for the two years
last past, with the best success. The fruit lying on the trellis ripens much

36 General Notices.

better, and is not liable to crack and rot, as when nearer the ground; it is a
decided improvement in the culture of early and late melons. My book will
also include my system of hand-glass culture of rock melons, and the common
method in frames on dung beds; also my method of growing and forcing aspa-
ragus and sea-kale. — John Mills. Gunnersbury, Nov. 6. 1840.

Garden Syringes.—You have often noticed the great excellence of Reid’s
syringe for every purpose of the cultivator ; also M‘Dougal’s, the bend of
which renders it indispensable. These are confessedly the best syringes of
the present day ; but are they perfect? So far from this being the case, any
practical man, after working these for half an hour, could give directions for
making a better instrument. For every straightforward purpose, Reid’s is
all that can be desired ; but by it we cannot possibly reach the covert insidious
marauders that so unceasingly annoy us. It is by an instrument throwing
up a perpendicular jet, that we can effect this. Therefore a right-angled bend,
put upon Reid’s syringe, would render it by far the most efficient instrument
in use. It may be supposed that M‘Dougal’s syringe, having a bend, would
accomplish all this ; but this is only partially the case. The aperture which
admits the ingress of water, is by far too small to fill in any reasonable time
the vacuum created by the working of the piston, and thereby renders the
operation both tedious and laborious, causing a great deal of power to be
spent wholly in vain; and the bend is set at such an angle, that when the in-
strument is held horizontally by the operator (which is not generally the case),
the jet produced, instead of being perpendicular, is thrown directly in the
operator’s face. Thus the properties of these instruments, imitated and
improved, would be a valuable combination ; and it is a pity that the patented
protections of these gentlemen should deprive the public of what would be so
really useful. — 1. 7. Sept. 1840.

Autumnal Colouring of Quércus-and Rhis.—We have received from J. T.
Brook, Esq., of Flitwick, specimens of Quércus and Rhis, more splendid in
colouring than any which we have hitherto seen. The Flitwick Arboretum
was planted in 1829, and hence these trees have upwards of 10 years’ growth.
The colours ef all the leaves are of the most intense scarlet, in the case of
the has tinged with dark purple. The species are Quércus palustris, three
varieties; Q. falcata; Q. rubra, of a dark red, almost black; Q. champaniénsis
Lod., with very large foliage, very dark red; and Q. Banister?, dark brown red ;
Rhis suaveolens, of anintensely dark purple; Rhus typhina, of an intensely
deep scarlet ; and Rhis glabra, of a scarlet so dark as to be almost purple;
Rhis Cétinus, the leaves of which generally die off yellow, but in this in-
stance they are of a fine scarlet, with a glaucous yellow beneath. No lover
of trees could see these specimens without being enchanted with them, and, if
he has not already an arboretum, rendered irresistibly desirous of planting
or visiting one. — Cond,

American Oaks.—A collection of very beautiful specimens has been sent us
by M. Vilmorin, from his extensive plantations at Barres, and of which we
hope he will favour us with a history. The following are the names of the
species received, and the dimensions of the current year’s shoots and leaves.
Quércus alba L., Mich, Leaves 72 in. long, by 32 in. broad. Young shoot 82 in,

nigra L., Pursh. Leaves 52 in. long, by 43in. broad. Young shoot 3in.

Phéllos L., Pursh, Mich. eaves 44in. long, by Zin. broad. Young
shoot 94in., branched.

macrocarpa Willd., Mich., Pursh. Leaves 12% in. long, 7 in. broad. Young
shoot 43. in.

Prinus discolor Mich. fil, Pursh. Leaves 73m. long, 54 in. broad.
Young shoot 5 in.

Prinus monticola Mich., Pursh. Leaves 8 in. long, 24 in. broad. Young
shoot 3 in.

rubra L., Mich., Pursh. Leaves 114 in. long, 83in. broad largest leaf.
Young shoot 6 in.

heterophylla Mich., Pursh. Leaves 6} in. long, by 23 in. broad. Young

Foreign Notices : — South America. 37

shoot 7£in. Most of the leaves more or less lobed, but some re-
sembling Q. Phéllos.
Qu. falcata Mich., Pursh. Leaves 7 in. long, by 44in. broad. Young shoot

palistris Willd., Mich., Pursh. Weaves 7 in. long, by 44in. broad. Young
shoot 52 in.

obtusiloba Mich., Pursh. Leaves 5iin. long, by 33in. broad. Young
shoot 24 in.

tinctoria Willd., Pursh. Leaves 84in. long, by 5in. broad. Young
shoot 103 in. long.

Banister? Mich., Pursh ; ilicifolia Wang. and Arb. Brit. Leaves 44 in. long,
by 21 in. broad. Young shoot 44 in.

lyrata Walt., Mich., Pursh. Weaves 72 in. long, by 31 in. broad. Young
shoot 102in. Plant 3 years’ seedling. — Cond.

Artificial Maturation of Figs.—A traveller from the Levant taught me the
following mode of rendering full-grown figs fit to eat. I take a blunt-pointed
bodkin, such as women use in drawing through tape; I open the orifice at the
end of the fig, and at the same time, having a little bottle of sweet oil hang-
ing on a button of my coat, I dip the bodkin in the oil, and insert one drop
in the orifice. — Thomas Blake, Gardener. Shirley Park, near Croydon, June
15. 1840.

In the notes made during our visit to Paris in 1828, and given in Vol. VII.
p- 262., we described the practice related above, as seen by us put in execu-
tion in the fig orchards at Argenteuil ; all the difference is, that a bit of wheat
straw is there used instead of the bodkin. — Cond..

Art. II. Foreign Notices.

SOUTH AMERICA.

Rio JANEIRO, Sept. 26. 1840. —— Here I am at last in an almost tropical
climate, and under an almost tropical sun, only 80° in the shade, and we are
yet only on the end of the Brazilian winter. But where shall I begin, and
where shall I find an end to describe to you my daily, my hourly botanical
enjoyments and raptures? I am quite sure * * *, when he was transported
in the spirit * * *, could not feel himself more charmed than I was the day
before yesterday, finding myself with the celebrated traveller, Riedel, in one of
the remaining small portions of primitive forest behind Corcovado Mountain,
surrounded with tree ferns and myristicas and melastomas and rhexias and
epiphytes and pothoses and Piperaceze and bambusas, &c., under a con-
certo of chirping and humming giant-grasshoppers and minute colibris, and
loud-screaming many-coloured parrots, and whistling ugly monkeys, and all
that only two or three leagues far from the Emperor of Brazil’s residence,
the good city of Rio Janeiro. I assure you I pinched myself already many
times in full earnest, to see if I was awake, or dreaming only of a charmed
fairy land. But, poor mortal as I am, I must soon return in this misery of
human life, to tell you that I am not a little embarrassed, having failed until
now in my project to support myself with German and French lessons until
I could send to Europe large collections of plants, seeds, insects, &c. I trust,,
therefore, in your long friendship not only, but also in your zeal for botany
and horticulture, to recommend as soon and as powerfully as possible my
poor exertions to generous amateurs, in order to keep me alive amidst all
these treasures. In revenge, if you carry in effect these mine projects by
procuring me generous protectors, I shall show you my gratitude by all kind
of contributions to your Magazine, collections, &c., whatever you may like or
wish to possess from this here charming country. Only arrived a fortnight ago,
all my ideas are so excited, that it would be impossible for me to give you for
the moment a sober description of any kind of object. If you will answer
this letter, you must recommend it to the care of Mr. Ousely, H. B. M. Charge
D 3

38 Domestic Notices: — England, Scotland.

d’ Affaires, in Rio Janeiro; and then I shall give you an account of all what
I shall have seen until then. — D. I. F. Lippold.

We sincerely hope that such of our readers as have the taste and the means
will patronise this excellent man, and scientific, and we need not say enthu-
siastic, botanist. He may either be addressed to the care of the British
consul at Rio, or orders will be received by Mr. Pamplin, Natural History
Agent, No. 9. Queen Street, Soho, who will take charge of articles sent home
by Dr. Lippold if required. The postage to Rio is 2s. 3d. — Cond.

Art. III. Domestic Notices.
ENGLAND.

New or rare Plants lately raised in the Botanic Garden, Liverpool_—Béssera
élegans, a bulb collected in Mexico by W. Bates, Esq., figdred in the Berlin
Hort. Trans. for 1839, t.4.; Dettzia staminea Wallich, figured in Flora
Asiatica, which has stood against a wall facing the east for the last three
winters, without protection, and without injury ; Lycium obovatum, quite
hardy against a wall; Lopézia miniata, a frutescent plant, raised from seeds
collected by William Bates, Esq., not yet tried in the open air, but apparently
quite hardy; and a new Biddlea from Mexico, with fine broad leaves, and a
free flowerer, which has stood out the last three winters, and appears quite
hardy. The seeds of this I also received from Mr. Bates.—Henry Shepherd.
Botanic Garden, Liverpool, Dec. 1. 1840.

The Cotton Plant has been grown in Manchester from seeds of the Sea
Island cotton brought from America, and pods produced containing cotton fit
for use. (Lit. Gaz., Oct. 31. 1840.)

SCOTLAND.

Timber Bridges. — Mr. Mitchell related to the British Association his ex-
perience in constructing timber bridges in the Highlands of Scotland. He
mentioned, among several others, three of 75. ft. to 100 ft. span, over the Spey
and Dee. He considered that timber bridges would last from thirty to forty
years ; but such was the economy of their structure in comparison with other
bridges, that the prime cost would more than allow their being rebuilt. (Liz.
Gaz., Oct. 31. 1840.)

Art. IV. The West London Gardeners’ Association for mutual
Instruction.

Monbay Evening, April 13. 1840.— Mr. John Fish read his paper On the
Forcing and general Cultivation of the Strawberry. He gave a brief history of
the plant, and of its medicinal properties, and then detailed the practice of
some gardeners in forcing the fruit. They lift two-year-old plants, putting
them with good balls in 24-sized pots, and then commence to force them
immediately ; last year’s runners are recommended by others to be potted in
February, taking off the blossoms as they appear during the growing season,
to prepare them for forcing in the autumn : to these plans he objected, as there
would be a great loss of time and of labour, and the fruit would not be so fine,
as the best is obtained during the first season of growth. His practice was,
to prepare strong warm or any good rich soil with one third decomposed hot-
bed dung in July, or as soon as rooted runners can be obtained, potted in 48
or 32-sized pots, with 2 in. of well decomposed dung above the crocks, one
plant in each pot. When taking them from the old plants, to pull up an arm-
ful of the runners, dressing, potting, and shading them at the north side of a

West London Gardeners’ Association. 39

wall until they get sufficiently rooted ; when they are gradually exposed to the
influence of the sun, then plunged in sawdust, and abundantly supplied with
water, removing all runners and weeds as they appear; to be covered with
straw or litter from frost. If convenient, the best.way would be to take
them, at the approach of winter, under cover ; but, if not, they should be
placed on a north aspect about the end of September, keeping them rather
dry. A great advantage was derived from placing the pots on their sides,
which prevents the rain from entering, and the frost from injuriously affecting
them, as, when overcharged with moisture, the sap vessels are distended ; in
frosty weather, the sap is expanded, which brings on disease, and ultimately
the destruction of the plant. If fruit is wanted at Christmas, to commence in
October, unless they are forced in pits ; to commence at 45°, gradually raising
the temperature, when the plants are in blossom, to 65° and to 70° ; when
ripening the fruit, keeping the plants near the glass, admitting air at all favour-
able opportunities ; when the fruit is set, to be watered with the drainings of
a dunghill. His method for a general crop was, to take them into the vinery
when forcing was commenced. About the second or third week in November
they were placed on flagstones above the hot-water pipes in front of the
house, then regularly supplied with water, air admitted at all favourable
opportunities, decayed leaves removed, stirring up the surface mould with the
addition of fresh soil, and supporting every truss of fruit with a small stake ;
they were more exposed to the influence of the sun, by which aqueous is
changed into saccharine matter. A second and third crop were produced
from the same plants, which was attributable, in a great measure, to the ma-
nure placed at the bottom of the pots, and watering twice or thrice a week
with liquid manure. A second vinery was started about the end of January,
in which strawberry plants were placed and treated as the first ; a third was
started about the beginning of March. From the three houses fruit was ob-
tained from December until they could be procured out of doors. The sorts
were the Alpine, Roseberry, Wellington, and the greatest portion Keen’s seed-
ling. The Alpines were first excited in a small hotbed, and taken into the
vinery, when they showed flower-buds. The opinion generally entertained,
that strawberry plants, French beans, and potatoes have a tendency to intro-
duce insects into the vinery, was never confirmed by his experience. For the
destruction of red spider, a good coat of quicklime and sulphur, of the con-
sistence of paint, brushed over the pipes or flues two or three times ; and green
fly destroyed by fumigations of tobacco. He recommended pans of water
to be used as feeders, to be regularly supplied until the fruit begins to
ripen; to be then gradually withheld to produce fine-flavoured fruit. Air is
advantageous in all stages of their growth, but more particularly when in
flower, and during the time the fruit is setting; for which purpose pits are
preferable to houses, as they can always get a more abundant supply. On
the great importance of light, heat, and air, he showed that heat was the
natural stimulus for setting the vegetative powers of plants in motion: heat
without light, in most instances, is injurious to vegetation ; it is when one is
proportioned to the other, that vegetation advances to the greatest maturity.
Between the tropics, where a high temperature exists, and with full exposure
to light, vegetation is almost continually going on, affected more or less by the
alternations of day and night, and plants flower and fruit twice a year. This
is owing to the temperature being suitable to vegetation ; and no sooner have
the plants performed their natural functions, than they, after a short cessation,
again commence producing as before. Ele then went into a physiological in-
vestigation, to prove that when a plant is exposed to the full influence of the
sun’s rays, it gives out pure oxygen, and absorbs carbonic acid, which goes
through the process of decomposition in the plant, the carbon only being re-
tamed. This operation cannot go on in darkness ; the plant then giving out
carbonic acid and nitrogen gases without oxygen will soon get into a diseased
state, and ultimately perish. To some persons the observations just made
may appear theoretical, but he believed that they were necessary to under-
D 4

40 Retrospective Criticism.

stand the first principles. of our operations. For out-door management, his
method was, to plant them out, when done bearing, in a trench | ft. deep,
with 2 or 3 inches of well-rotted dung at the bottom, a little soil strewed
over it ; turned out of pots, balls entire, and placed very close to each other ;
an abundant supply of water to be given, and the soil filled in level. Planta-
tions of strawberries in strong rich soil, trenched 2 ft. deep, would produce
well for three years, but on light soils he recommended to renew them every
year. After detailing many particulars about the sizes of the beds, the proper
distances to be planted apart, and the other minutiz of general routine, he
concluded by recommending the Roseberry, Keen’s seedling, Downton, Wel-
lington, Carolina pine, red and white Alpine, and Wilmot’s superb, for gene-
ral cultivation.

Mr. Gray would advise to take small 60-sized pots, to be filled with leaf
mould, then plunged in the borders or beds, that the runners may be pegged
down ; when established, to be cut from the parent plant, and placed in 32-
sized pots, in good loam. After forcing, to be planted out; when put into the
house, all decaying leaves to be removed, and very little water to be given;
the supply to be gradually increased until the fruit is set, when it may be given
copiously ; to be withheld when the fruit is ripening, to improve its flavour.
The temperature to commence at 55°, to increase it gradually to 65°, and to
ripen them at 70°.

Mr. Sherwood, in his management of runners, filled 60-sized pots with stiff
soil, then plunged them to their rims, stopped the top of the shoot, laid a
small stone to fix it in the pot ; when established, shifted into 48-sized pots,
plunged in old tan, or in any favourable situation in the open ground, and
always fruited them in 32-broad-sized pots.

Mr. Caie considered the most essential thing in forcing strawberries was to
place them near the glass, for, if they are in any way elongated, they will not
set well, It was a good plan to set the pots in pans of water, and to plant 3
in each pot.

Mr. Gray believed that the soil in a 32-sized pot will not contain more
nourishment than is sufficient to support one plant. To be protected in a
covered shed or out-house in winter, as he has seen plants much injured by
the frost. He preferred to plunge them in tan, mulched with sheep-dung;
if saturated with water, they are very apt to rot off.

Mr. Keane approved of the essay brought forward by Mr. Fish. The prac-
tice he would recommend was, to put 3 plants in each 32-sized pot, filled with
one third rotten dung, and two thirds good stiff pasture loam, well drained,
and plunged as Mr. Sherwood advised. To commence forcing at 50° ; sheep-
dung manure-water to be given when the bloom was falling, and to be con-
tinued for three weeks.to set and swell the fruit.

A desultory discussion then took place on the advantages or disadvantages
of liquid manure ; on the propriety or impropriety of cutting down the leaves ;
and Mr. Fish concluded by recommending to bring on vegetation gradually,
to protect the plants when plunged by spreading any dry litter over them,
and to grow them without suffering from the checks that vegetation generally
receives in shifting from one pot to another. — Walham Green School-Rooms,
Dec. 1840,

Art. V. Retrospective Criticism.

CHATSWORTH, Alton Towers, and Trentham.—1 have just returned from
these places. Chatsworth retains with me its grandiose character. Its rich
interior fine doorcases of such size, and its shadowful cornices and ceilings,
take it out almost of the common dwelling to the palace character. I think a
mistake has been made in carrying the landing, which is so disagreeably narrow,

Retrospective Criticism. 41

round the hall, by way of preserving the communications for the purposes of
habitation. I think if it had been taken only along that side of the hall
which faces the court, its width might have been handsome ; and it could have
been broken into projections upon brackets, corbels, or cantilevers, with very
fine rich effect, and the convenience of the communications equally main-
tained. The ceiling of the great dining-room was not, to my view, an agree-
able segment, and the statues which form the chimney-pieces are not upon an
agreeable level. They would seem to be part of the company, and do not
maintain their illustrative and decorative character. Such were the crowds
of visitors, that I had the advantage of seeing these gardens peopled ; and, as
at Versailles, it is a most advantageous carrying out of the fundamental
views of the designers of that section of gardening. I hope that the duke,
who is always so alive to the completion of his magnificent residence, will
make a grant of his notice to the termination of the architectural cascade.
It would double its value were it decorated by architecture and statues and
seats of stone, which should be so consulted in the composition of them, as
‘not only to banish the nudity of the immediate scene, but furnish decorative
points of view to other parts of the gardens. The old French works on this
style of gardening offer a great variety of materials for such a composition. The
great conservatory is yet without its plants. It is certainly very hideous in its
forms, but surprises from its magnitude. It seems very ill built, and of very
inferior materials, both wood and glass. The collection of plants of so many
different kinds is very amusing, and they are in general very well conducted as
to management. The glazing by a groove in the sash-bar does seem the best
mode yet hit upon ; and, if J can get over the difficulty of working the panes,
I feel disposed to prefer it for my own houses. At Chatsworth they seem to
make no difficulty about it, which ought to make it appear very practicable,
especially when there is so much done there in that way.

Alton Towers always amuses me ; and, although there is much of the ridi-
culous done away with, I doubt whether much of it must not be set down to
the category of whim and caprice, rather than to ripened or artistical taste.
It is one of the multitude of instances in England, and applies to the last
half-century, beginning at Strawberry Hill up to the very spot, how feebly
the subject intended to be created, or even imitated, has been understood by
the employer; and how still less intensely the architect or adviser has been
acquainted with first principles, or brought to his work a sober feeling, or even
educated attention. I even require that, as in other arts, the artist or archi-
tect should aim at ideal beauties, cull them, and not confine himself to copy.
This is quite compatible with an adhesion to any period or style which may
be selected. The contrary or opposite view conducts him out of art, strictly
so called, and reduces him to the pedantry of an antiquarian, which must, or
ought to be, anything but the plan for imaginative exertion. I believe that
that radical, Luther, contrived to inveigle away his generation, and those that
have followed it, out of that expansiveness of imagination which is so indis-
pensable for art. The house is full of fine gorgeous furniture and pictures.
The galleries are too low, I thought, and not very agreeably lighted. The
descent to the dining-room, so far from being made into any thing fine, for
which a flight of steps is so admirably adapted, is quite the contrary: it is
rather ridiculous to see a company arriving at their dinner table @ vol doiseau ;
for it is a very precipitous descent, and the circumstance of winding round
must destroy all the pageantry of such a proceeding. The idea of descending
from a height (but only moderately so) to a dinner table of display is calculated
to have a very good effect. The pattern of the dinner table, like the pattern
of a symmetrical flower-garden, gains by being looked over by an eye somewhat
more than six feet above it, rather than looked along by an eye at the com-
mon height: Paul Veronese has put this often in practice in his compositions.
The most beautiful pictorial effects, and a true realisation of the purpose and
sensual character of a pageant feast, are at once displayed to those senses
most upon the look out for these gratifications ; and my recollections serve

AQ Retrospective Criticism.

me easily in the effect produced on myself at the sight of a most superb sup-
per, served to the Imperial Family and court, in the theatre of the Hermitage
Palace at St. Petersburg, by a similar arrangement. I could mention, also,
the very varied effect that can be thus made use of in the disposition of a
large and crowded company, in the court fetes given at the Favorita Palace,
near Portici, by the court of that country ; and at several others, which, as is
usual on the Continent, are placed under the direction and invention of
educated artists, when the féte is for the celebration of any royal alliance or
other state purpose. I must not be tedious, but perhaps this may suggest a
hint, through your journal, to our plodding idle school of architects, and sur-
prise or awaken their drawing-boards. f

Trentham has many unfortunate circumstances belonging to it. The house
is so confined by roads, and that fine expanse of water is continually thrusting
itself on the eye, and forcing it in vain to look for an outline that is not grace-
less. The house is altogether little, inside and out. It would be a fine villa,
and ought to be at Turnham Green or Wimbledon. It is wholly silent in in-
spiring any notions of seigneurial or aristocratic feeling, such as seem belong-
ing to this puissant family. The flower-garden is the only great thing about
it. That compartment next the house is very successful ; the lower one wants
dressing. I think there would not be too much grass, if the beds had handsome
stone borders or edges. It should not have gravel, I think, otherwise the
whole would be a glare. Its great defect in design is its tameness. It wants
a boundary of clipped bosquets or berceaux, to give some light and shadow,
and to define more strongly its beginning and separation from the park. The
bronze statues do well near the architecture of the house, but, if deprived
of that accompaniment, they cease to assist in the general effect, and incur the
charge of being misplaced. Against a Portugal laurel they come off badly,
and can only be of value when close to them. — H. B. August 18. 1840.

The above communication was sent us long after we had written our re-
marks on the same places, made in May, though not published till November.
As we consider the taste of the writer to be of the very first order, both in
architecture and landscape-gardening, we feel much gratified and strengthened
in our own views, from their coincidence with what we consider so high an
authority. With respect to the conservatory at Chatsworth, there can be no
doubt that a classical form would have been more generally approved of; but
much of the approval and disapproval in such matters has its origin in pre-
viously formed associations. Whenever any form is presented to us so en-
tirely new as that of the conservatory at Chatsworth, it ought to be tested by
its utility ; and few, we think, will deny that the structure in question is ad-
mirably adapted for all the purposes of the kind of culture intended, the
enclosure of a tropical grove. Weare surprised to hear the workmanship
and the materials objected to, for, when we were on the spot, we thought
them both excellent. — Cond.

Mr. Penn's Mode of heating Hot-houses.—I1 feel that in my paper on Mr.
Penn’s mode of heating, which appeared in your Volume for 1840, p. 640., I
ought to have cautioned persons against erecting the apparatus as at first ap-
plied by the inventor, or as figured in the Gardener’s Magazine, volume for
1840, p. 122—127. This is the more necessary, as in distant countries, or
even in distant parts of this country, many persons in erecting it may follow
exactly the sections and descriptions given in the Magazine, and the result
must be a failure; as to heating an early forcing-house sufficiently, with the
pipes placed outside, it would in particular cases (high winds for instance)
amount to an impossibility. But allowing it could be accomplished, it must
be at an enormous sacrifice of heat ; as much heat is absorbed by the materials
that encase the pipes, which when placed outside must be given out in the
back sheds, without in the smallest degree benefiting the space intended to be
heated. When the pipes are placed inside, this circumstance becomes a great
consideration, as I find the materials so heated continue to give out heat

Retrospective Criticism. 43

long after the water ceases to circulate; therefore, the pipes ought in every
case to be placed inside of the house or houses to be heated. Knowing how
willingly you give publicity to every improvement, I trust you will insert this
correction, as it may prevent disappointment, and do justice to a system that
when properly constructed is preferable to all others.—N. M. 7. Folkestone,
Dec. 8. 1840.

Mr. Penn’s Mode of Heating, as contrasted with other Modes.—1 think it is
much to be regretted that Mr. Penn did not prevent the possibility of mis-
construction by taking out a patent, and keeping it in his own hand till per-
fectly understood, thereby securing it to the public with every improvement
that experience might suggest. But he has given up his indisputable right
to do this, and has apparently gained nothing in return—no, not even
the thanks of those who might have profited most by his, as it appears, ill-
bestowed liberality. Having by leaving his invention open for the good of the
public waived all claims to the golden harvest it must otherwise have produced
him, it might reasonably be supposed that he would have been allowed full
credit for his ingenuity. To retain the shadow, after so generously parting
with the substance, is even denied him. Mr. Fowler, in his paper on the
subject, Vol. for 1840, p. 323., says it is no invention; still he insists on having
this nothing divided, and proposes to share the palm with Mr. Beaton, by
which it is evident that he considers discovery and invention the same thing.
I think the two modes very different, and consider that had Mr. Beaton or
any other man, by erecting an apparatus to answer any other purpose, found
out Mr. Penn’s system, it would have amounted to a discovery, an accidental
discovery only, an effect produced, without, in all probability, the producer
being able to define the cause. How different is the case with reference to
Mr. Penn! He saw the desirableness of the revolution he has effected,
directed the energies of a vigorous mind to produce it, and the result has
been his system as it now stands, based upon unerring principles, effective,
grand, and simple. All this, says Mr. Fowler, is as new as chimneys, which he
informs us were invented by the good people of the thirteenth century, by
which it is evident that they knew that “sparks fly upwards,” and probably
that they knew hot air ascended also; but, if they had not found out this,
many a poor gardener, to his cost, had been left to the necessity of turning
every sash into a chimney that the smoke might escape into the atmosphere.
Thus, in these matters, according to Mr. Fowler, we have been stationary
since the thirteenth century; and all parties might have been as fully
satisfied with the chimney system as he is, and we might have remained so for
thirteen centuries more. But Mr. Penn has at length grasped this column of
heated air, hitherto stubborn as the monument, and bent it to his purpose,
making his invention, as Mr. Fowler has unwittingly expressed it, a truly
retrograde movement. The air of a house, Mr. Fowler observes, heated
by pipes, cannot become stagnant ; the same with equal justice may be said of
the most stagnant pond that fosters pestilence : still, strictly speaking, this is
correct ; practically speaking, it is sheer nonsense. The air of such houses
is often stagnant, palpably stagnant, to a degree highly injurious to the m-
terests of the cultivator; yet in the same breath Mr. Fowler informs us that
the air in Mr. Penn’s houses must become so, and forthwith consigns it a
habitat in the drains! Yes, in the drains, the current that rushes through
which and agitates the waves of this ocean is compared to the force of the
whirlwind, the rage of the tornado. Had there been a possibility of what he
surmised happening, it would have shown a much better feeling to have pro-
posed a remedy, than to have opposed by “ weighty objections” a plan, which,
at the time he wrote, it is evident he knew nothing about. These weighty
objections are, I may add, probably the most harmless things that ever
assumed so formidable a name, as, according to his own showing, they could
not possibly exist. — NV. M. 1. Folkestone, Dec. 9. 1840.

' Mr. Rogers's Conical Boiler. — As my sole object, with reference to the

44 Retrospective Criticism.

conical boilers, has been that the public should have the benefit of them, such
as it may be, in the most efficient form, I think it but fair that all who have
lent themselves to the carrying of my plans into execution should share
equally the advantage, such as it may be, of my recommendation. I find that
Messrs. Lankester and Co., of Southampton, to whom J communicated my
suggestions as long ago as 1836, have carried them into execution very ex-
tensively, and with great success. They continue to employ copper boilers,
not haying experienced the inconvenience which I found in the use of that
metal; and, though I confess I have some misgivings as to its durability, my
single experiment cannot be considered as conclusive against it. I have not
had the advantage of seeing any of the apparatus erected by them at work,
but the numerous instances of their successful application which they have
handed to me, and the general efficiency with which all their undertakings are
conducted, leave me no room to doubt that they would execute satisfactorily
any work which may be intrusted to them.

In taking leave of my now almost jaded hobby, I would once more suggest
that it is essential that the conical boilers should be set, or the setting ac-
tually superintended, by some one who thoroughly understands the principle
upon which they are to act, or failure and disappointment will probably ensue.
I should also mention that more extended experience has satisfied me, that
the reverberatory mode of setting, in which the draft descends around the
outside of the boiler before it enters the chimney, is invariably the best :
boilers so set require less attention and less skill to manage them than those
fixed as my own, and some of the earlier ones.

In conclusion, I must disclaim any merit for any thing more than the mere
contrivance of the boiler itself; for all the calculations necessary for its ap-
plication to produce any given temperature, both as to the size of the boiler
itself, and the pipes which it is capable of heating, I am indebted to Mr.
Charles Wood’s most valuable treatise. My own experiments on these
points have been few and very roughly conducted ; and the results I deduced
from them, though perhaps not very erroneous, were merely empirical, and
applicable only to similar or not very dissimilar cases. 1 have relied entirely
upon his experiments and calculations, wherever I have had occasion to advise
the quantity of pipe which should be employed for any specific purpose ; and
I cannot neglect this opportunity of acknowledging his very obliging personal
communications on the subject, whenever I have taken the liberty of con-
ferring: nevertheless he is no way responsible for any blunders which I may
have committed. The conical boilers are now in the hands of a great number
of persons, and I am happy to find that general testimony confirms the
favourable opinion I entertained of them; nevertheless, I am far from be-
lieving that other boilers of different ferm might not be made equally or more
efficient, if constructed with the same attention to the purposes to which they
are to be applied. — John Rogers. Sevenoaks, Dec. 4. 1840.

Semicylindrical Draming-Tiles.—In the Gardener's Magazine for 1840, p. 535.,
I am somewhat surprised to see it stated by you, that the semicylindrical
draining-tiles are placed with the open side downwards, resting upon flat
tiles. Now it is obvious that the contrary is the proper way of placing them ;
because by resting them upon the convex side, with the concave side upper-
most, the whole force of the current, be it large or small, will be collected
into one body along the centre of the drain, and by collecting all the force
into the smallest possible space, it will generally be found to keep itself clear
of sand or any kind of dirt that may, from time to time, be washed into it.

The only objection which I can discover, against placing the tiles with the
open side uppermost, is, that the covers might be liable to be broken by the
passing over them of loaded wheelbarrows, &c. This objection is, however,
of such trivial importance, that it could easily be obviated by placing the
drains sufficiently deep, that the covers might be buried 10 or 12 inches be-
neath the surface of the walks. Altheugh this depth would be found quite

Retrospective Criticism. 45

sufficient to guard the covers from injury, it is clear that the deeper they are
placed the safer they will be. — A. Saul. Castle Hill, Dec. 3. 1840.

The Glazing of the Chatsworth Conservatory. — It unfortunately happened
that I was in Ireland when you were kind enough to send the proof here of
part of your November [1840] Number of the Magazine. In noticing the
great conservatory at p. 572. you state that Mr. Drake glazed it with squares
3 ft. 9in. long, at Is. 4d. per foot square. You will remember my stating at
the time I gave you this information that Messrs. Chance, the manufacturers,
had desired me to say it was impossible for them to supply others at this price,
as they did not realise any thing by the transaction. They were desirous of
bringing this glass into notice, and had therefore offered to supply the quantity
I required at a low rate, being at the same time in a great measure ignorant of
the trouble and expense it would give them, as they had not manufactured
glass of the size required before. When the conservatory was first projected,
it was the intention to glaze it with small crown glass, but after great consi-
deration, and a good deal of conversation with Mr. Drake on the matter, he
wished me to try British sheet glass in lengths about 14 in. long; this drew
my attention more particularly to the sheet glass, and, after making various
experiments, I decided to do it with glass in one pane, or to use small crown
glass. Messrs. Chance, equally desirous with me for the large squares, met
my views in the most liberal way, and undertook to supply it at a low rate,
which enabled Mr. Drake to glaze the house at the price mentioned. Iam
anxious your readers should be set right on this head, as Mr. Drake and the
Messrs. Chance have been subjected to considerable trouble, and many per-
sons have referred to me for the correctness of the statement.

I may add, that so satisfied and pleased am I with this glass, that I would
recommend its adoption in all horticultural buildings, for strength, beauty, and
ultimate economy ; from its thickness, and the even manner which it beds
down to the bars, so very considerable a quantity of fuel is saved in early forcing
and stove plant houses, that the extra expense of glass would in many cases
be saved in fuel alone in two years. — Joseph Paxton. Chatsworth, Dec. 9.

The Conservative Wall at Chatsworth. Gardeners Magazine for 1840,
p. 572.—I have been much interested in reading the accounts you give of the
conservative wall at Chatsworth. Iwish [had such a one at command, I
think I would clothe it still better ; but unfortunately you have destroyed all
the benefit to cultivators, by the arrangement you have given. The list would
have been far more useful had you divided the plants: distinguishing those
that had the benefit of the flue; those that were only protected by the coping,
buttresses, and curtain; and those for which the coping and buttresses alone
were sufficient guard. Could you not give such a list in a subsequent Number ?
[Perhaps Mr. Paxton will be so kind as to supply it.] I am sure it would be
welcome to many as well as to myself. — J. C. Kent. Chamber’s Court, near
Upton on Severn, Nov. 12. 1840.

- We trust some of our readers will enable us to comply with our corre-
spondent’s wishes, as to conservatory wall plants in general. —Cond.

Shriveling and Shanking of Grapes.— There has been so much discussion
in your Magazine on the shriveling and want of size and colour in grapes, that
I make bold to give my humble opinion also, more especially as I consider our
friend W. H. (Vol. for 1840, p. 598.) not altogether correct in thinking that the
shriveling proceeds from the border being too rich and stimulating. Crowded
foliage will be injurious, as far as preventing free access to light and air. Nor
do I acquiesce with our learned friend Dr. Lindley, in supposing that it pro-
ceeds from the roots being too cold for the internal atmosphere. I had vines
under my care at Edgerston in Roxburghshire, in the spring of 1837, when
the thermometer stood at 13° out of doors, and the internal atmosphere was
72°. The vines were planted on the outside of the house, with their stems
wrapped up with moss (Hypnum), and the border mulched. They were planted
in a compost of strong hazelly loam, formed from the sward of a pasture

46 Retrospective Criticism.

thoroughly decomposed, and one fourth vegetable mould of decayed tree
leaves, one sixth of good rotten horse and butchers’ grub dung, and a little
sheep-dung, with a moderate quantity of powdered bones and lime rubbish.
The borders were frequently watered with liquid manure water from the drain-
ings of adunghill, and we never had a shriveled grape during the three years
I was there ; and these grapes have never failed taking the first prize for the
best-flavoured bunch at the Jedburgh Horticultural Society for many years
past : and there are vineries in this neighbourhood that have borders not above
3 ft. deep, upon a gravelly bottom, which have not been renewed these fifty years,
that have had abundance of shriveled grapes in them every year lately.

I think the foregoing remarks prove that it is neither the coldness nor the
richness of the border that is the occasion of the shriveling. As to the fo-
liage of the vines upon the rafters shading those on the back wall, and causing
the fruit to shrivel, I think the circumstance may partly be accounted for in
this manner. The disease does not operate till the fruit commences colouring,
but it must have originated before that, say fourteen days. Vines are mostly,
by superior cultivators, slightly syringed and steamed until they commence
colouring. Might not those on the back wall, from being shaded, be longer
cold and moist, and not get the free circulation of air that they would get
upon the rafters ; independent of their other disadvantages of being so much
farther from the glass, and consequently receiving less heat from the sun’s
rays, &c.? Now, in my opinion, damp stagnant air is very much, if not
altogether, the cause of the shriveling of grapes after they commence their
second swelling. If there should not be a free circulation of air in the
house they will shrivel, and if the weather be wet or cloudy they will not do
with high forcing. I am certain, from experience, that W. H. is perfectly cor-
rect as to the air and keeping a dry atmosphere : also see Gardener's Magazine,
vol. x. p. 137., and vol. xiii. p. 261., by Mr. Robertson. The remarks that fol-
low on the same page, by Agronome’s nephew, are no proof at all ; for crowd-
ing a rafter with superfluous vines was certain to bring disease upon the
weaker-growing sorts ; and as to his green-house, I do not suppose the vines
he planted in it were either Muscats or Frontignans. As to Mr. W. Grey’s
observations (Vol. for 1837, p. 501.), I can see no reason why grapes should
either be overcropped or get infested with the red spider in a vinery, supposing
that to be the reason ; and gardeners all know, or ought to know, that grapes
set best in a high moist atmosphere.

An article or two have also appeared on the Rust on Vines (see Vol. XIII.
p. 263. and 355.). The latter remarks seem to imply that it is occasioned
by the foulness of the working gardeners’ hands, &c. In the summer of 1830,
my father-in-law had two vineries very much infested with rust on the vines ;
it went on increasing every year till 1835, when he concluded that it pro-
ceeded from the roots. We accordingly dug out a trench the broad way of
the border, leaving 3ft. of border along the front of the wall, forking the
roots as carefully as possible, and folding them up upon the 3 ft. border
that was left undisturbed, and shoveling the soil clean out down to the clay.
We then covered the bottom with lime rubbish, and beat it down to a sort of
pavement or floor, putting compost on the top of that 18in. thick. The
roots were then carefully pruned and put on the compost, and the border
filled with the remainder. This compost consisted of good rich loam, &c.,
thoroughly decomposed; and of course the vines were pruned according as
their roots had been disturbed. This process had the desired effect, it
entirely cured the vines of rust. What strengthens my opinion as to the
roots is, that I have a vine here at one end of a large vinery, where there
is a cistern for holding the rain water that runs off the house in wet
weather, and the waste-pipe discharging itself into the border has soured
the soil at the roots of this vine, so that it has contracted rust. From what
has been said, I think there could be no mistake about my father-in-law’s
grapes ; he always dressed and thinned them himself.

By giving my opinion on the shriveling and rusting of vines, I do not intend

Queries and Answers. 47

to disparage those of the gentlemen before-mentioned, and must regret that the
subject has not been taken up by an abler hand than mine, and one more
accustomed to the pruning-knife than — Robert Wilson, Gardener. Norton,
Stockton on Tees, Nov. 16. 1840.

Art. VI. Queries and Answers.

PROPAGATING the Mistletoe. — Will any of your readers, who has had
some experience in propagating the mistletoe, favour me with a notice respect-
ing the best method of raising plants of that parasite, stating upon what kind
of trees they will best flourish ? — An Amateur Gardener and Constant Reader
of the Magazine. Ashton-under-Line, Dec. 2. 1840.

Shanking of Grapes. — Having seen in your Magazine for 1840, p. 598., the
question again broached, “ What is the cause of the shanking of grapes,” and
that after all that has been said and written on the subject, the cause is still
left undecided, I take up my pen to offer a few remarks, The paper that
Mr. Fish read at the West London Gardeners’ Association gave no system
that ought to be pursued, by which the disease should be prevented from
showing itself. There is not the shadow of a doubt, in my opinion, that too
many branches on a vine will cause shanking and shriveling. This is easily
remedied by reducing the number of branches to the strength of the vine; but
how often do we see that, after this has been done, the evil still exists? The
varieties of Constantias, Frontignans, and Muscats are more liable to the
disease than others, notwithstanding all the care that can be bestowed as
regards ventilation and keeping the border in a porous state. Some years
ago I used to be sadly plagued with shanking, but now I have seldom a bunch
that is affected by it. What first led me to prevent the disease was this:
I never observed a bunch that was produced from aspur, and that had been
neglected by not thinning out the berries, to shank. By following up this
observation, I concluded that cutting out the berrries before they were stoned
caused fermentation, and ultimately death to the parts affected: but if I left
the thinning process till the cambium began to descend, that this acetic
fermentation would not take place; and as the cambium does not begin to
descend till the berries are stoned, I considered this would be the most proper
time to thin the berries. Having a house here that is entirely planted with
the varieties of Frontignans and Constantias, I determined to try the system
that I had laid down to myself on the whole house. It succeeded, and has
done so ever since. I never take a berry from out of a bunch of grapes till
after the berries are stoned, and then only a few at a time, going over the
house frequently, and always taking care to leave a sufficient quantity of berries,
that when the bunch is ripe the berries may be closely wedged together, and the
bunch quite stiff. Grapes that are produced on long rods are at all times
more liable to shank off than bunches that are produced from spurs, which is
owing to the loose habit of the bunches, and is still increased by injudicious
thinning. In short, I never saw a bunch shank that the scissors had been kept
from. I hope some of my brother-gardeners will try this system, and very
seldom will their grapes be disfigured by shanking. — Cotswold, near Stroud,
Nov. 16. 1840.

If our correspondent will favour us with his address, we shall be much
obliged. — Cond.

Shanking and premature Shriveling of Grapes. — Want of food appears to me
to be the sole cause of the shanking and premature shriveling of grapes,
about which so many conflicting opinions have been advanced in this Magazine.
This deficiency of nutriment might arise from various causes, but, undoubtedly,
the principal one is a bad border ; under which head I include not only peor
hungry soils that are incapable of supporting a plant in vigour, but those deep
and narrow pits of rich earth in which vines are generally planted, and even
borders of proper dimensions, if the subsoil is wet and the drainage imperfect.

AS Queries and Answers.

Depend upon it, the most essential condition in vine culture is a dry bordet,
by which term I would be understood to mean, a border so constructed as to
insure a ready passage of superabundant moisture in the wettest seasons.
The young fibrous roots of vines are exceedingly tender, and soon rot when
soddened in cold wet soil ; consequently the plant, being thus deprived of its
mouths, may starve in the midst of plenty. According to the extent of the
injury to the roots, so will the fruit suffer: thus, a partial destruction of
rootlets will check the free swelling of the berries ; the loss of a greater
number of absorbents produces imperfect maturation of the fruit, shown by
the absence of its natural colour and flavour ; and a still greater amount of
injury causes the pedicels to wither and the berries to shrivel. On the same
principle (deficient nutrition), overcropping will produce the same result, even
when the roots are in a healthy state. I have now under my charge a vinery
in which all the above-mentioned symptoms of debility are exhibited ; and I
know from examination that the vines have scarcely any fibrous roots, in con-
sequence of deep planting in a deep border. The Muscat of Alexandria and
the Frontignans suffer most, because the roots of those sorts are the most
susceptible of injury from wet; the black Hamburg, being hardier, is less
affected ; while the white Muscadine, the hardiest of all, bears some very
respectable fruit. I have lately destroyed the vines in a similar house, and
made a new border on the plan recommended at page 378., and I shall be
wofully disappointed if “shanking” is ever seen in this house. Let W. H.
try that plan, raising the roots of his vines near to the surface of the border,
and he will not find his soil “ too rich.” Let him also use the knife and
scissors freely, and I will venture to warrant that he will have no more
shanking in his grapes. —J. B. W. Nov. 7. 1840.

Curling of Vine Leaves. — Vine leaves flag when the moisture they transpire
much exceeds that absorbed in the same time by the roots. This frequently
occurs in the dry sunny days of spring, when the difference of temperature
between the media surrounding the leaves and the roots may amount to 50°
or more. If permitted to remain in that state of desiccation the leaves
would most likely “ curl,” as described by Mr. W. Wilson ; but by a little
timely attention that injury might be prevented. When vine leaves flag, the
atmosphere of the house should immediately be saturated with moisture,
by swimming the floor, &c., with water; and a small-meshed net should be
spread over the roof, to break the force of the sun’s rays: this will generally
restore the foliage to its usual freshness; but with weak vines, forced early, I
have sometimes found it necessary to syringe the leaves in the middle of the
day, and to shade with mats, and I never had a curled leaf. Let your Knights-
bridge correspondent give his vines plenty to eat, and not roast them, and
they will not curl up their noses at him. — Jdem.

The Curlin Vine Leaves. Gard. Mag. for 1840, p. 568. — In answer to the
complaint of your correspondent at Knightsbridge respecting the vine leaves
in his grapery being curled, I would say that it is most probably owing to his
growing green-house plants in his vine border. That should be left without
anything to interfere with the roots of the vines, or to interrupt the action of
the sun upon the earth. Dr. Lindley says “ vines and mulberries cannot have
too much manure ;” therefore they will ill bear being robbed by the roots of
other plants. I consulted two very experienced gardeners on the subject ;
one, who is particularly successful in the growth of grapes, said that the leaves
of vines would be subject to the curl at this time (October) of the year. The
other thought it might be owing to the red spider, which your correspondent
can easily ascertain by consulting some one experienced in the care of vineries.
I would add, I conceive the reason why some of the vines are affected and
others not, is, that some are of a hardier sort than others. The Muscat of
Alexandria or the grizzly Frontignan, are much more tender than the Muscadine
or Sweetwater. — S. Oct. 6. 1840.

THE

GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,

FEBRUARY, 1841.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Art. I. Some Remarks on the Economising of Surfaces under Glass ;
the Introduction of artificial Heat to Fruit Borders; and the At-
tainment of Bottom as well as Surface Heat from the same Heating
Apparatus. Illustrated by Plans and Sections. By N. Niven, Esq.,
Landscape-Gardener and Garden Architect, &c.

Every superficial foot of surface under glass being, from its
expensiveness and consequent value, of importance to the hor-
ticulturist, a few observations bearing on the economical
appropriation of such surfaces may, to some of the readers of the
Gardener's Magazine, be neither unwelcome nor uninteresting.
Having for several years past been paying particular attention
to the consideration of this subject, and being convinced, both
from observation and experience, that many improvements may
still be made in the internal arrangements of particular hot-
houses, I now, with a view to this, submit to the discriminating
and experienced editor of this work, the accompanying plans
and sections; simply premising that they are those of a house
lately erected near Dublin, under my immediate directions;
and, so far as I can judge from a few months’ working, it
promises to realise my best expectations. Although it is well
that each respective division of an extensive range of fruit-houses
should be appropriated chiefly to some one particular purpose,
as, for example, peaches, vines, &c., still I have long considered
it desirable that some one at least of such houses should be so
arranged as to be made more generally useful than is usual,
as a fruit and forcing house throughout the year. Such a house
I consider important, even to those who can afford to put up
extensive ranges of hot-houses, but more especially to such
persons as might not have it in their power to erect separate
divisions for separate purposes. As briefly as possible, then, I
proceed to explain the details of the plans and sections (jigs. 13.
to 17.) alluded to. ‘The dimensions of the metal-rcofed house de-
lineated are, within walls, 60 ft. in length, by 14 ft. 6 in. in width,
and 14 ft. 6in. is the height of the back wall from the level of

the floor within; thus obtaining with the semicurvilinear bar
1841.— II. 3d Ser. E

50 Economising of Surfaces under Glass,

Li tht: GL) th

Pe a SEE
LG

VLE EEE METERED RE

4] oi
ls i
t CE ate
be
5 aN
—| ML / dk .
Bs ——
SSS
LE WLLL CLL LET TLE HEHE LLL ETRE LEE
Fig. 13. Ground Plan.
a, Fruiting pine-pit. 6, Passage, with tubs in the recesses for Musas. -c, Front-passage,
. with hot-water pipes. cc, Cistern. dd, Vine border. ee, Air-flues. J; Hot-

water pipe chamber.

an angle and curve of roof, in my opinion well adapted, not
only for ventilation, but also for receiving a large portion of the
influence of the sun’s rays, both as regards light and heat. The
following are the purposes for which
this general fruit and forcing house
has been arranged, namely : — the
cultivation of the dwarf plantain, the
granadilla, the guava, the cucumber
or melon, the pine-apple, the vine;
the forcing of early flowers, straw-
berries, &c. Each of the above-named
objects of culture, I shall touch upon \
separately. W
I. The Chinese, or Dwarf, Plantain

(Misa Cavendishii). For the accom- *'% 1* ©7085 Section of wa THOSE.
A : g Hot-air chamber. _0, Front path,
modation of this beautiful plant and “ana hot-water pipes. °», Back bath.

desirable fruit, niches are provided in hota pee, a boxes
the back wall. T he plants are grown Seren nein a Sen os
in tubs, in rich sandy soil, and co-_ front pathway.

piously supplied with liquid manure. Their progress in this
situation, and with this treatment, has been rapid. Their rich
foliage will soon form a canopy over head, without in the

slightest degree interfering with any of the more useful portions

of the house, and will add much to the beauty and richness
within.

Application of Heat to Fruit Borders, &c. 51

Il. The Granadilla (Passiflora quadran-
guldris). This West Indian fruit, so beau-
tiful in its flowers, as well as rich in its
fruit, and therefore deserving of a place
wherever room can be conveniently made

for it, is trained from each end of the back
wall over the arches, and partly down the
piers, between the bananas.

III. Zhe Chinese Guava (Psidium Catt- "8 2nd View.
leyanum). This rich tropical evergreen, so much to be desired
on account of its beauty, as well as of its luscious strawberry-
flavoured and deep claret-coloured fruit, is planted in tubs, at
each end of the house, where room has been provided for them.
They are growing as standards, and are already showing flowers
in rich abundance. It is hoped they will also prove an interest-
ing and desirable addition to the dessert.

TV. The Pine-apple. For the purpose of starting, swelling,
and ripening the fruit of this plant, a pit, as shown in the
section, has been provided in the centre of the house, capable of
containing four rows or so of good-sized plants, at a convenient
and suitable distance for such from the glass; which pit, in con-
sequence of the absence of cumbersome and shady front lights,
as well as from being on a level with the wall plate from which
the bars spring in front, has without any obstruction, as will be
easily perceived, the full advantage of solar heat and light, as they
may be required to promote the ripening and flavouring of the
fruit grown in the pit. For the culture of the plants previously
to this stage of their growth, a commodious, low, compact pit,
according to Rogers’s plan (which I very much approve of ), has
been provided; and, as far as the bottom and surface heat
obtained from the pipes below is concerned, promises to work
well.

The bottom heat in the pit of the house I am describing (as
well as in that of Rogers’s pit, which has been similarly arranged)
is obtained in the steadiest and most regular manner. In
effecting this desirable result, I have been at considerable pains.
Taking into consideration the vexatious uncertainty and frequent
disappointment arising from the old burning system, if I may
so eall it, of tan heat, along with its many inconveniences;
also the more recent and important improvements through the
medium of hot-water pipes in enclosed chambers beneath, par-
ticularly those where the surface is boarded over and perforated
for the reception of the pots; and eminently successful, as,
from what I have seen, this latter method promises to be, still I
conceived that it was capable of material improvement, es-
pecially as regarded the medium in which the pots and roots

were placed. It immediately suggested itself that a suitable
p Vy 50°
E

52 Economising of Surfaces under Glass,

adjustment of the two principles above noticed, namely, the
chamber mode of heating pits with boarded surfaces, and the
mass-of-material mode of heating, as tan, dung, or leaves may
be called, would probably be the best way of obtaining a steady,
safe, economical, and genial temperature. With this view, a
chamber was prepared beneath for the hot-water pipes, and
cemented in the bottom, for the purpose of retaining, when it
might be requisite, a thin sheet of water. This chamber is
made sufficiently capacious to admit a man by a small door or
hatch at either end, for the purpose of repairs and the application
of water, or a thermometer, when required. It is roofed over
with kyanised timber, 3 in. wide, by 2 in. thick, and 1 in. apart.
Over this are laid about 8 in. of heat-absorbing materials, as
brickbats and stones, the smallest on the top; next, a thin firm
sod, with the grass side down; and, over all, about 2 ft. of half-
decayed leaves. ‘Thus, it will easily be conceived that this mass
of materials will not only be capable of retaining the heat
derived from the pipes below, but also be conducive to the pro-
motion of the heat from the decomposition and slight natural
fermentation of the shallow bed of nutritive vegetable matter,
the medium for plunging in. On the first heating of the
pipes, it took three or four days ere the pit attained its max-
imum temperature of 100°, when it was ready for the immediate
reception of the plants, the heat being under complete control.
It also turns out that instead of the constant application of the
heat from the pipes within the chamber, that the same steady
temperature can be kept up during summer, with only one
night’s application of their action during the week. ‘The pipes
are so arranged that either the pit or atmospheric heat of the
house can be worked separately or together, as may be required.
Another advantage attending these arrangements is, the having
a magazine, as it were, of moist heated air, which, without ma-
terially deducting from the bottom heat above the chamber,
retained by the materials alluded to, can on any emergency of
severe weather be added to the surface heat of the house, by
simply opening the two small doors at either end of the chamber.
Moreover, it is found, that the heat is so regularly diffused over
the surface-bed of the pit, that within 2in. of the kerbs it is
always in steady useful action. I calculate that the pots being
plunged over the brims as they now are in this bed of leaves,
the plants will thereby be allowed to root over it with much
advantage to their fruit and suckers, and this too without the
smallest risk; for, in fact, burning the roots, as it is called, can
never happen; the maximum point of bottom heat being within
the line of safety. Such a pit, for various purposes of plant-
growing, will be found invaluable. Thus, all unseasonable
moving of plants or materials is done away with, and a heat

Application of Heat to Fruit Borders, gc. 53

produced that can be depended upon with certainty, as well as
of the most simple and easy regulation. ‘The pine plants
fruited this season, in this house, were started some time
previous to its being ready; they were chiefly Queens, and
were, of necessity, started at only two years of age; which
plants, notwithstanding their youth, have afforded a supply of
fair-sized fruit for that variety, and, as has been admitted by all
who have tasted it, of very superior flavour. I am convinced
that, for this cloudy weeping country, the curvilinear metal roof
is essentially important towards the proper maturation and
flavouring of the pine-apple. With the view of getting into a
stock of the larger sorts, and those best adapted for winter use,
it is intended to introduce, chiefly, the Black Jamaica pine.

V. The Cucumber or Melon. Provision is made for the culture
of these plants in boxes, as shown in the section, over the hot-
water pipes, behind the pit. They are supported by metal
brackets, and are placed at intervals, level with the back
kerb, opposite each of the metal rods that strengthen the roof
of the house; which rods are adapted for the training of the
plants, and so form along this part of the house, opposite the
bananas, columns covered with foliage and fruit of the most
luxuriant description. In this way only the otherwise useless
surface over the pipes is occupied. In the course of six weeks
after sowing the seeds, cucumbers were cut, cultivated in this
way, from 18 in. to 2 ft. in length; and a constant supply has
ever since been kept up in succession to the present time, with
a fair prospect of cucumbers throughout the winter. A summer
crop of melons may also be obtained with equal ease in the same
way, only observing that they and the cucumbers should never
be grown in the same house at the same time.

VI. The Vine. Being thoroughly satisfied, as already hinted,
of the comparative uselessness of front or upright sashes in the
construction of the curvilinear roofs of fruit-houses; and taking
into consideration, not only their inutility, but also the expense
unnecessarily added thereby to such erections, apart altogether
from the questionable nature of their effect as compared with
the more substantial and neatly finished exterior of a well-pro-.
portioned parapet; I am induced for such purpeses to adopt
the latter, but more especially with the view of affording certain
facilities, in connexion with the ventilators, towards the con-
venient introduction of the stems of the vines into, or out of, the
house. At each side of each ventilator, it will be observed that
there is an opening for the reception of each vine; which vine
is planted, not close to the front parapet as usual, but 4 ft.
or so from the house, and then taken on to it under a front
pathway, in narrow boxes which are made with lids and open

at the ends, and through the opening under the ventilator, to
E 3

54 Economising of Surfaces under Glass,

the trellis within. This is done for the purpose of preserving
the stem from external exposure; and also for obtaining a
radius or sweep of 4 ft., when the vines are to be taken in or out
of the house, besides having the width of the ventilator itself,
which is other 4 ft.; and thus, if possible, avoiding the injurious
effects that so frequently arise from twisting, in consequence
of the circumscribed means of ingress and egress generally
afforded. For the purpose of obtaining a succession of grapes
in the same house, it is proposed to mtroduce only one half
of the vines at a time, say about one month or so before
the other half! The vines will be trained in single spurred
rods from the bottom to the top of the house, at intervals of
every 5 ft., having a run of upwards of 20 ft. Length of bar,
rafter, or trellis, I consider of the highest importance in the
training of the vine. ‘Thus, again, at a season of the year
when the pines require a partial shade, the vines so trained
will effect this.

With respect to the preparation of the vine border, of
which a plan (jg. 13.) and sections (figs. 16. and 17.) are
are also given, I con- =
ceive, in connexion with ‘ m MI
this, that a much more ; 4 fae
interesting subject than bi SS) sSSSSSSSS ===]

SESS

fo) = ———
any of those I have as Af!

y et touched upon, re- Fig. 16. Cross Section of the Border, Pathway before the front
: 5 Si
mains for consideration, Wall, and Walk at the Extremity of the Border.

I 1 g, Air chamber. h, Hot-water pipe chamber. 2, Drain.
namely, the application "zk, Walk in front of the border. Z, Border. m, Path-

of artificial heat from way, with wooden tubes under it for the stems of the vines.

the same heating apparatus that supplies bottom and surface heat
to the house within. Considering the many facts bearing on the im-
portance of obtaining for exotic or forced fruits a suitable propor-
tion of terrestrial temperature, according with what nature has

Zt u
—— ie)
Pe a ae ee eee) eae SATII RRR EN |e
° ° 10 Lo
Pan OS ee eee eel
Fig. 17. Longitudinal Section of the Vine Border.
#, Prepared soil.on the prepared bottom. u, Hot-water pipe chamber. vv, Air-drains.

provided for such in their native countries; and also the many
evidences bearing on the necessity for some material change in this
respect, especially as regards early forced fruits ; likewise the many
bad consequences arising from deep planting, deep borders, and
cold retentive subsoils; I say, with such circumstances as these
before me, I feel myself called upon unhesitatingly to submit
what I may venture to hope will be found a material improve-
ment in horticultural science. That the ripening of the wood,

Application of Heat to Fruit Borders, &c. 55

and the colouring and flavouring of the fruit, very much depend
upon the position of the roots, both as it regards heat and air,
as well as suitability of soil, there can be little doubt, for this
has been already well ascertained; therefore, I feel it superfluous
to enlarge upon the principles upon which a different practice is
based. Every day’s experience, as well as occasional experiment,
must point out equally to the scientific and practical man, that
some change in the relative temperature necessarily existing in
such countries as these, between the roots and branches. of trees
put into a state of premature excitement by forcing, is very
desirable. With this object in view, I propose heating the
border alluded to through the means of hot-water pipes, as will
at once be understood by referring to the plan and sections,
Jigs. 13. to 17., p. 50. to 54. The chamber containing the pipes
is formed along the one end and front only of the vine border,
having small minor chambers or drains, 1 ft. square, crossing it
at regular distances, with open side walls which may be covered
over, either with short pieces of charred timber, long-shaped
bricks, or large slates; the spaces between these minor air-
conducting chambers to be filled up with broken stones or
brickbats. The whole is to be covered over with a stratum of
limestone broken very small, and then by a firm thick sod with
the grass side down, over which the compost is to be laid, to the
depth of 23 ft. next the house, and about 2 ft. at the walk or
chamber. Thus, whenever the branches of the vines. are in-
troduced inside the house, the valves may be turned on the
outside pipes, and the requisite temperature obtained for the
roots. Calculating according to the ordinary principles of cir-
culation, I conceive that a regular current through the minor
chambers will be the result of heating the air in the pipe
chamber in front; and also that the heat will find ready access
through the open side walls of the cross chambers, amongst the
stones or brickbats forming the bottom of the border between.
At the same time I purpose having a small plug-hole opening
opposite the end of each minor chamber, through the front
parapet, into the house; so that at any time, if found requisite, the
heat derived from the outside chambers (which may be expected
to be very moderate) may be admitted into the body of the
house. Any necessity for this, however, is not at all likely, as
with the existing means of heating the house described, we find
we have an ample supply for all the purposes intended. This
application of heat to the roots may easily be regulated by
having a thermometer hung in a box in the border. I would
also suggest that a slight covering of rotten dung or leaves will
be requisite over the surface, for the purpose of retaining the
heat, as well as protecting the roots and stems that may be near
E 4

56 Economising of Surfaces under Glass.

it, at least until the severe weather of winter and spring is past.
The expense of these arrangements will not be much more than
that of the pipes; as, under any circumstances of a well-formed
border, the drains must necessarily be made.

Besides the application of the above principle to vine borders,
I am not sure whether it may not yet be found an important
auxiliary in the cultivation of the peach, nectarine, apricot, and
even pear, against walls, in cold northerly parts of the country ;
for I am disposed to think that the ripening of the wood, and
the production of flower or fruit buds, depend much more upon
the management of the root, as regards temperature, than we
have been in the habit of conceiving. '

VII. Forcing Strawberries. A front shelf, level with the
bottom of the wall plate above the ventilators, and over the front
pipes, is intended for the forcing of early strawberries. Light and
air being so essential towards their successful growth, in this
situation they will have an ample supply of both.

VIII. Forcing Shrubs. The front and back kerbs of the pine
pit will afford space for lines of roses, kalmias, rhododendrons,
&c., to be brought in early, either for the greenhouse or drawing-
room.

To conclude: I offer a few words upon ventilation, in con-
nexion with metal houses; also my opinion as to the compara-
tive merits of metal and: wood, in the construction of hothouses.
I conceive, from most I have seen in the way of metal houses,
that they have suffered much, in point of character, from the
want of sufficient means of ventilation; bearing in mind the
greatly increased medium for the reception of the solar rays, by
the curvilinear form of roof, as well as its much increased sur-
face for light, compared with the oblique roof of the wooden
house with its heavy shadowy rafters. ‘Taking, I say, these
circumstances into consideration, I am only surprised that the
damage arising from a defective means of ventilation has not
been even greater than what I have witnessed. This, however,
is not the fault, it has merely been the misfortune, of the metal
house. By the introduction of the semicurvilinear bar, a facility
is afforded for ample ventilation, by means of square sliding
sashes in the upper part of the roof, which is made straight on
purpose.

Comparing metallic houses with wooden ones, in point of adap-
tation for this country and general elegance, I decidedly prefer
the former; but where economy becomes any material conside-
ration, then I would say adopt the wooden house. With respect
to heating, in either case let it be by hot water.

I consider it due to the parties who executed the werk of the
house described, and who are now extensively engaged in similar

3 i co)
erections in other parts of Ireland, to state, that they have not

Glendinning on Corbett’s Mode of Heatine. 57
fo) a)

only executed their work reasonably and well, but have always
exhibited the most anxious desire to finish it in the best manner.
The parties I allude to are Messrs. Turner and Walker, of
the Hammersmith Works, near Ball’s Bridge, Dublin. The
one executes the metal work of the house, and the other the
hot-water apparatus.

Richmond Fill, Kingstown, Dublin, Dec. 1840.

Art. Il. Mr. Glendinning’s Opinion of Mr. Corbeti’s Mode of
Heating by Hot Water. By R. GLENDINNING.

Mr. Corsett’s discovery of circulating hot water in open
gutters, and its application to horticultural purposes, is the
most important invention in heating every description of forcing
and plant structure, since the first attempt of communicating
heat to plants by means of warm water. Mr. Corbett’s plan
combines the simplicity of the good old level system with the
grand advantage of diffusing through the house, without trouble,
any quantity of moisture required, or entirely withholding it.
The circulation of the water in the gutters is quite as rapid as
by any other system, if not more so, even when left entirely
open. ‘The invention is divested of all intricacy, as the water
may be exposed to full view from its leaving the boiler until its
return, and consequently never liable to go out of repair. Its
effectual application to every description of forcing-house is at
present without a parallel; as, by the partial or entire removal
of any number of covers, an unvarying degree of moisture,
always governed by the temperature maintained, can, with the
greatest ease and accuracy, be communicated. ‘This alone, to
practical men, will secure to it a decided preference. Red
spiders, thrips, and all other insects, will be readily subdued ;
and an atmosphere, at once invigorating and refreshing, at all
times maintained. During the late very severe weather, when
the thermometer was at 10°, it has proved to us its great

a, Back path. ;

b, Bark pit, 50 ft. long in the
clear.

c, Exterior pit for dung casing,

r to revive the heat.

dd, Gratings to drains.

e, Stink-trap to drain.

Fig. 18. Ground Plan of a Pit to be heated in Mr. Corbett’s manner.

superiority most satisfactorily. It is erected in a geranium-house
in our nursery; and, by careful comparison with a number of
other modes of heating, our opinion of its excellence is very
strongly confirmed. It has also been thoroughly tested in a
pine-pit erected by us for a lady in this neighbourhood, similar

58 Remarks on Cijtisus Adami.

Sf, Glass roof.

g, Bark pit.

h, Back path.

2, Pit for dung casing.

k, Drain.

1, Hinged cover of ledged boards, to
protect the dung from the rain
and wind.

m, Ground line.

m, Suspended shelf for strawberry

ots.

o, Slate shelf for pots.

p, Stink-trap communicating with
the cross drain (g), which leads to
the main or barrel-built drain (x).

7, Corbett’s hot-water apparatus.

s, Hollow wall of bricks on edge.

‘O; k
Fig.19. Cross Section of a Pit to be heated according to Mr-
Corbett’s System.

to the plan (figs. 18. and 19.) I now send you, which is designed
for the approval of His Grace the Duke of Somerset.

We can safely recommend this system of Mr. Corbett’s as
the best that has come under our observation; and we speak
advisedly, having had a great deal to do with various systems of
hot water under their worst and best forms. In grape, peach,
and pine forcing, and in stoves appropriated to the culture of
orchidaceous plants, it ranks above, and must ultimately super-
sede, all other systems. Mr. Corbett, by his invention, has done
much to advance horticulture, and conferred a great boon on
his brother gardeners, deserving their best thanks, together with
the patronage of their employers.

Exeter Nursery, Jan. 10. 1841.

A MOoMENT’s reflection will convince our readers that the
above mode of heating does not at all interfere with Mr. Penn’s
system of ventilating; for the open gutters of hot-water, if
placed in Mr. Penn’s hot-air chamber instead of his pipes, or in
part as a substitute for them, would doubtless saturate the air to
be circulated better than the water at the bottom of the cross-
drain. We formed an unfavourable opinion of Mr. Corbett’s
mode of heating when it was first announced, as will appear by
our Volume for 1838, p. 527.; and this was partly from an
idea that Mr. Corbett claimed too much for it. Having heard
Mr. Glendinning’s opinion on the subject, we have lost no time
in publishing it, with a view to doing Mr. Corbett justice; and
we hope that his system will soon take that high degree of rank
among other systems to which it seems so well entitled. —

Cond.

Arv. III. Ox the Cytisus Adami, or Purple Laburnum.
By M. Poireav.

I RECEIVED your valuable letter, and it is with much pride and
satisfaction that I find you have applied to me rather than to any
one else for the information you desired respecting the Cytisus
Adam.

Remarks on Cytisus Adami. 59

Here follows a list of the articles in which the Cytisus Adamz
is treated of in our Annals.

1. Note on a new Cytisus, by M. Prevost, vol. vii. p. 93.

2. Note on this note, at the end of the same article, by
Poiteau, p. 95.

3. Physiological notice on the Cytisus Adamz, by Poiteau,
WOls x.) ps Il.

4, New observations on the C¥tisus Adamz, by M. Camuzet,
vol. xiii. p. 196.

5. Considerations on vegetable tissue, with respect to the
orange called the Bizarrerie, by M. O. Leclerc, vol. xviii.
p. 302.

6. New observations on the C¥tisus Adamz, by Poiteau,
vol. xvili. p. 6.

The Cytisus Adamz has smooth leaves and branches like the
C¥tisus alpinus, which we call the sweet-scented cytisus, but the
flowers are buff (chamois), not so large, and less regular than
those of either. Sometimes the C. Adam? produces flowers half
reddish yellow; sometimes one of its buds produces a true
branch of C. Zabarnum, with pubescent leaves, and long bunches
of yellow flowers exactly like the species, and seems inclined to
return to its type. Hitherto nothing has prevented our con-
sidering C. Adamz to be a hybrid of C. Zabairnum, of which
the father is not known; but here is a difficulty which puzzles
us. This same C. Adamz produces also, besides one or more
branches of C. Zaburnum, branches of C¥tisus purpureus, which
remain small and slender, the leaves of which are small and
smooth, and the flowers, instead of being in long pendulous
bunches, are in pairs (geminées) and axillary, as in their na-
tural type or natural species, only the flowers are rather larger
than in their type, but they have their violet purple colour.
Observe, that these branches of C. Zabirnum and of C. pur-
pureus never proceed from casual buds (bourgeons adventifs),
but from eyes naturally predisposed on the branches of C. Adamz.
It has happened three or four times, that, in a graft which had
only two eyes, one has produced C. Adam, and the other
C. purpureus.

There is now to be seen at M. Bertin’s, nurseryman at Ver-
sailies, a cytisus which has these three species at once on the
same root. ‘lo explain this phenomenon, we must suppose that
the elements of three species circulate separately under the bark
of Cytisus Adamz, and that each of them bursts forth at different
places ; and that the elements of C¥tisus Zabarnum bursting forth
oftener than the elements of C¥tisus purpureus, they must be
either more active or more abundant. This being admitted, it
may be asked how these three elements are united under the

60 Remarks on Cytisus Adami.

bark of the C¥tisus Adamz. To this we may reply, that the
seed which produced this tree had been fecundated by the pollen
of a cytisus or other tree not yet ascertained, and by the pollen
of the C¥tisus purpureus; this is supposing that the female in
plants can be fecundated by several males at the same time. If
this supposition is admitted in certain animals, there is no
example that it is admitted in vegetables; for I consider all
that M. Gallesio has said on superfoetations as not proved. I
I knew M. Gallesio personally; he was an amateur who had
no rational idea of vegetable physiology, and who gave as veri-
fied facts what was only the fruit of his imagination.

Now that it is a received opinion that the embryo pre-
exists before fecundation (the embryo must be considered as the
developement, by fecundation, of a germ situated at the extremity
of one of the lateral fibres of the capillary leaf) in vegetables as in
animals, and that it is acknowledged that the sexes are determined
in the embryo before fecundation, it is difficult to admit that the
three species enclosed without mingling under the. bark of the
Cytisus Adamz are produced by the simple fact of vegetation,
the action of which is admitted only to give life to the pre-
existing embryo.

In ordinary hybrids, the influence of the male and female is
nearly equal on the embryo, and the plant produced partakes of
the character of two plants: but in the Cytisus Adam: there is
little or no mixture; each of the three species shows itself dis-
tinct, sometimes in one place, sometimes in another, without its
being previously foreseen.

If we could still say with Buffon, that the embryo is formed
in the act of fecundation, by the mixture of the seminal liquid of
the male and of the female, the explanation of the origin of
C. Adamz would be easy; but the preexistence of the embryo to
fecundation being admitted, the opinion of Buffon is no longer
valid. We must, therefore, say of the C. Adamz what has been
said of the orange called Bizarrerie, namely, that in the act of
fecundation the fructifying substances have not mingled com-
pletely ; that some particles have remained untouched ; that they
have lived and vegetated of themselves in the embryo and in
the seed; that they continue to vegetate in the body of the tree
always of themselves ; and that, when opportunity again presents
itself, they produce a bud, branch, leaf, and flower of their own
species.

This, my dear Sir, is the ne plus ultra of the hypothesis which
we have founded here on the Bizarrerie and on the C¥tisus
Adamz. I hope you will do better than we have done.

On the 20th of this month, M. Jaques again presented to the
Society of Horticulture a branch of C¥tisus Adamz, which had

Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices. 61

on one side a shoot of its own species bearing flowers and gla-
brous leaves, and on the other a pubescent shoot with pubes-
cent leaves, and the yellow flowers of C. Laburnum. M. Jaques
said that a more scientific person than himself had discovered
in the tissue of this tree three different sorts of molecules, which
are the sources of the three species which exist under its bark,
and which burst forth under certain circumstances. We expect
to be shown the three different molecules.

If you wish to know the history of the Bizarrerie, see L’ His-
toire Natural des Oranges, by Messrs. Risso and Poiteau, pub-
lished in 1818, p. 17. 107.

Paris, May 28. 1840.

Art. 1V. Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices of
the Kinds of Plants newly introduced into British Gardens and
Plantations, or which have been originated in them; together with
additional Information respecting Plants (whether old or new) already
in Cultivation: the whole intended to serve as a perpetual Supplement
to the ‘* Encyclopedia of Plants,” the ‘‘ Hortus Britannicus,” the
Ke Hortus Lignosus,” and the “ Arboretum et Fruticetum Britan-
nicum.

Edwards’s Botanical Register ; in monthly numbers, new series, each
containing six plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by
Dr. Lindley, Professor of Botany in the University College,
London.

Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants;
in monthly numbers; large 8vo; 2s. 6d. each.

The Ladies’ Magazine of Gardening ; in monthly numbers ; 8vo,
with coloured plates; 1s. 6d. each. Edited by Mrs. Loudon.

Malvacee
2004. MA’LVA

laterftia Hook. brick-coloured Y A pr 3% s R Buenos Ayres 1840. D co. Bot. mag. 3846.

A pretty plant, with prostrate stems, and pale red flowers. It is a native
of Buenos Ayres, and will grow freely in the open border, (Bot. Mag., Jan.)

Balsaminee.

+ Impatiens rosea Lind]. Another Indian species of Impatiens. “ It is
loaded with delicate pale rose-coloured flowers, which are arranged along the
stem ; and, when gathered and placed in water in a sitting-room, it will con-
tmue to expand them for four or five weeks successively.” (B. M. R.,
No. 22., Jan.)

Tropeolacee.

TROPZ‘OLUM (3844.
Moritzi@num Klotzsch My. Moritz’s _AJ] or 6 jl Y.R Cumana 1839. S co. Bot. mag.
This pretty Tropzeolum has the petals, or inner segments of the perianth,

curiously fringed with red; the whole of the flower, though of a bright golden

yellow, is also stained with red. Seeds received from Cumana, in the West

Indies, soon vegetated and flowered in the greenhouse of the Glasgow Garden,

62 Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices.

while others in the open ground grew more vigorously, but did not flower.
(Bot. Mag., Jan.)
Leguminosae.

Clidnthus cérneus Lindl. (Streblorhiza speciosa Endl.) A very handsome
plant, which will probably prove “a very good conservatory creeper.” (Bb. M.
R., No. 9., Jan.)

Acacia platyptera Lindl. A greenhouse plant from the Swan River. Both
these plants have flowered in Messrs. Lucombe, Pince, and Co.’s nursery at
Exeter. (2. M. R., No. 10., Jan.)

Rosdcee.

1515. SPIRE‘ A [co. Bot. reg. 1841, 4.
kamtchatica Dec. var. himalénsis Lindl. Himalayas Y A or 2 jn jl W India 1838. D

A very pretty kind of perennial Spirz‘a, which is quite hardy in British
gardens, but which, like the other common kinds, “ flowers best when planted
in a rather damp situation, and partially screened from the rays of the sun.”
(Bot. Reg., Jan.)

Crassuldcee.
3356, ECHEVE’RIA [reg. 1841, 1.
ldrida Lindl. lurid tA) or 2 jn S Mexico 1840. D l.p.s Bot.
Goodendvie.
616. EU‘THALES (1841, 3.

:Macrophflla Lindl. large-lvd Y 1A) or 4 su Y.Br Port Augusta 1839. D co. Bot.reg.

A very handsome greenhouse perennial, sent home from Port Augusta, in
New South Wales, by Mrs. Molley. It is a very showy plant, with bright
yellow and brown flowers, which are produced in succession throughout the
whole summer and autumn. It grows in any rich free soil, and strikes freely
from cuttings. (Bot. Reg., Jan.)

Gesneriacee.

1702. GLOXI’NTA p. 271.
rubra Part. red yg [A or 1 s S_ RioJaneiro 1840. D s.p Paxt. mag. of bot. vol. vii.

A very beautiful species, with rich scarlet flowers. It is in the Epsom
Nursery, and at Mr. Lowe’s at Clapton. “It is propagated by planting the
leaves in sand, and placing the pots containing them in a humid temperature.
The leaves, likewise, if carefully fastened flatly on moist sand, and shaded from
solar influence, will sometimes protrude roots, and form young plants, from
many parts of the midrib.” (Paxt. Mag. of Bot., Jan.)

Pedalinee.
1720. MARTY/N1A.

fragrans Lindl, fragrant ©} or 1 jn C Mexico 1840. S rm. Bot. reg. 1841, 6.
This very beautiful plant has been already mentioned in our preceding
_ Number (p. 13.) ; and, unlike all the other species of the genus, it is fragrant.
It should be grown in light rich soil. (Bot. Reg., January.)
Convolvulacee.

Ipome ‘a batatdzdes Benth. This is said to be the true jalap plant. There are
only two plants in the Horticultural Society’s Garden, and it has hitherto been
found impossible to propagate them. They have large, fleshy, oblong tubers,
and dark crimson flowers. (B. R..V., No. 23., January.)

Scrophulartnee.
[was daughter to the Emperor of Russia.)
* PAULO’ WNIA Sieb. (In honour of the name of the Hereditary Princess of the Netherlands, who

imperialis Sieb. imperial 4 or ,30 ap LL Japan 1840. C co. Ladies’ Mag. of Gard., t. 1.
_ This very beautiful tree, having proved quite hardy in the Jardin des Plantes
in Paris, will be a great addition to our shrubberies and ornamental planta-
tions. It will grow in any common garden soil, but it thrives best in one that
is dry, and somewhat loamy. (Ladies’ Mag. of Gard., January.)

1807. ANGELO‘NIA
cornigera Hook. horn-bearing [() pr 1 au P Brazil 1839. S co. Bot. mag. 3848,
Synonyme : A. ciliata Gardner.

A pretty stove annual from Brazil. The flowers are rather small, but

Culture of the Peach in the open Air. 63

extremely rich in colour, and a beautiful object for a microscope.” It
was found in 1839 by Mr. Gardner, who called it A. ciliata, but this has been
changed by Sir W. J. Hooker to A. cornigera, a name suggested by the “ horn-
like appendage” to the lower lip. (Bot. Mag., January.)

Thymelee.

Pimelea spectabilis Lindl. A very handsome plant, with “ large heads of
pink flowers, collected within broad floral leaves, richly stained and bordered
with crimson.” (B. M. R., No. 18., January.)

Orchidaceae.
2540. ONC’ DIUM [mag. 3845,
macranthérum Hook. large-anthered yg [XJ cu 4 ap G.P Mexico 1840. O r.w.p Bot.

A little insignificant plant, with a very few small pale flowers. (Bot. Mag.,
January.)

2546. GONGO’RA

bufonia Lindl. toad-skinned ye (A) or 1 my Var. Brazil 1838. O r.w.p Bot. reg. 1841, 2.

A handsome species of Gongora, from the lightness and shape of its flowers,
though their colour is a dingy yellow, variegated with purple, green, and brown.
(Bot. Reg., January.)

G. filva var. vitellina Lindl. A very pretty plant, “ with bright yellow
flowers, less spotted than usual ;” a native of Mexico. (B. M. R., No. 4., Jan.)

2530. CATASE*TUM.

A plate is given in the Bot. Reg. (t. 5.), containing detached single flowers '
of the following five species and varieties of this genus : — C. callosum, cor-
nutum, barbatum var. proboscideum, laminatum var. eburneum, and lanciferum.

Pleurothdllis recirva Lind]. A creeping plant, with dull purple flowers. (B.
M.R., No. 1., January.)

P. lutéola Lind\. With small yellow flowers. (Idid., No. 2.)

A’porum sinuatum Lindl. From Sincapore, with pale yellowish green
flowers. (Ibid., No. 3.)

Arundina bambusefolia Lindl. An Indian epiphyte, “ with the foliage and
habit of a small bamboo, and the flowers of a Cattleya.” It has flowered at
Messrs. Loddiges’s. (B. M. R., No. 5., January.)

Art. V. On the Culture of the Peach in the open Air. By Rozert
GLENDINNING.*

Tue peach belongs to the natural order Rosaceze, and is the
Pérsica vulgaris of botanists: it is a native of Persia, and was
first brought into Europe by the Romans, in the time of the
Emperor Claudius, and introduced into this country about three
centuries ago, although by some thought to have been brought
over during the Roman invasion, which is not improbable. The
tree is known to abound with hydrocyanic or prussic acid,
and hence probably the injury resulting from eating the fruit
previously to the full developement of the saccharine juice. The
fruit in a perfectly ripened state is highly and justly esteemed,
and when divested of its skin is one of the most wholesome
brought to table, and peculiarly calculated for invalids.

The climate of Devon is eminently favourable for the growth
of the peach in the open air: the following observations will

* Under the cuts in p. 68, 69. for “ Errington,” read “ Glendinning.”
1841.— II. 3d Ser. *m 8

64 Culture of the Peach in the open Air.

therefore apply to that mode of culture. It is almost useless to
state that the nectarine is a mere variety of the peach, and the
treatment suitable to the one is equally so to the other.

The preparation of the border, and the proper soil to secure
healthy and fruitful trees, form a fundamental part of our enquiry ;
it is the groundwork of the whole. So much in truth depends
upon a border prepared upon sound principles, that, unless this
is done, it will be impossible to produce healthy, well ripened,
and fruitful wood. Borders, to be attended with such a result, can
only be properly formed by gardeners who possess a physiological
knowledge of the peach tree. As the branches are subjected to
artificial regulation, it becomes equally important to place the
roots under similar contro], and to obviate as much as possible
the absorption of ingredients placed beyond the reach of at-
mospheric influence. It never can be too often insisted upon,
nor too well understood, that noxious juices are always found
in a more fluid state, and in that condition much more readily
imbibed, than nutritious juices ; and that these crude ingredients
are found in far greater quantities at a considerable distance
from the surface, beyond the reach of atmospheric action, which
alone can decompose the carbonic acid, and assimilate the
proper juice; bearing in mind, also, that the absorption of
liquids depends upon their degrees of fluidity, and that impure
and imperfectly converted juice is always found in that state,
and the further it is removed from solar influence, so is its
degree of fluidity, and hence also its perniciousness. How often
do we hear complaints of failure? And the mystery under which
these are enveloped is the vigorous state of the trees, which are
annually producing immense quantities of redundant shoots,
requiring the saw to remove them. We hear the cause at-
tributed to a bad season, or a bad situation, while in truth it is
a radically bad border, equally badly managed. ‘This annual
dislodgement of so much wood, produced in consequence of
such an abundant supply of impure food, placed out of the reach
of the action of the atmosphere, and thus freely absorbed by the
spongelets, renders pruning unavoidable and extensive, so that
sound cicatrisation is rarely effected. Gum will therefore be
found exuding in all directions: this is caused by so much
lopping becoming necessary to keep the tree within bounds.
The excerning of gum is a sure sign of the absorption and im-
perfect elaboration of an undue portion of noxious fluids. The
sap thus extravasated frequently accumulates under a degree of
compression in the old branches of the tree; it will therefore be
found excreting as the temperature increases, and accumulating
in impenetrable masses, completely preventing the ascent and
descent of the sap, and ultimately producing death wherever
these indurated lumps form.

Culture of the Peach in the open Air. 65

Having, I trust, clearly and satisfactorily pointed out the cause
of failure, as regards the absorption of impure and pernicious
fluids by the spongioles, the next point to be considered will be
the formation of borders upon a right principle, completely
obviating the possibility of such fatal consequences.

When new gardens are forming in low and damp situations,
particularly with a retentive subsoil, I should always insist on
keeping the walls well out of the ground, by raising the foundation
to where the set-off takes place considerably above the surface
level ; by so doing there is secured to the border a much greater
inclination than is usual, or would be desirable under more
favourable circumstances. ‘The oblique tendency thus secured
will assist in carrying off the redundant precipitations, whether
natural or artificial, to the front of the border. It will be ab-
solutely indispensable, in such situations, to provide gutters along
the edges of the walks to receive this surface water, as well as
drains under for carrying off this and all! other superabundant
moisture. A moderated supply of water, to produce and retain
in the soil in which the trees are planted a medium temperament,
should be a paramount object in the original formation of the
border, that a controlled supply of properly converted food may
be promoted and secured. It will be desirable to have borders
from 10 ft. to 18 ft. wide, and bearing some proportion to the
height of the wall; and walls from 10 ft. to 14 ft. high will be
found in every respect suitable for the peach tree. ‘The height
of the walls also should bear some proportion to the space
enclosed, as a small piece of ground surrounded with a high wall
will be just.as objectionable as a large area enclosed with a low
wall. ‘The border should be excavated 2 ft. 6 in. or 3 ft. deep,
giving a similar inclination to the bottom, as has already been
described for the surface: this measurement should be taken
from where it is intended to finish with the proper soil, that is,
6 in. above the set-off. I should then recommend a good drain
to be formed in front of the border and parallel with the wall ;
the top of this drain should be level with the bottom surface
that it may receive all the surplus water, whether arising
naturally, or that which may pereolate through the soil; I would
then place 1 ft. of loose rough rubble over the entire bottom
of the border. The material used for this purpose should be
such as would secure the most perfect drainage; over this
place a few inches of furze, ferns, or any description of light
brushwood, to prevent the soil mixing with the drainage. In
some situations.much of this preparation will be unnecessary :
but it should be attended to under every modification of cir-~
cumstances. The facts which I have detailed, founded as they
are upon a physiological investigation of the subject, clearly
elucidate the course to pursue, and how utterly fruitless it is to

1841.—TII. 3d Ser. Ee

66 Culture of the Peach in the open Air.

expect any other than mere chance success, when based upon
nothing besides empirical skill.

The soil most suitable in my opinion for a peach tree border
is, scund maiden loam of a medium texture, taken from old
pasture land, cut 2 or 3 inches thick, and piled in heaps for a
few months, when it may be chopped vertically with the spade
and put into the border. Allowance should be made for the soil
settling down: it must therefore be kept at least 6 in. above the
intended level; this will be preferable to filling in the border
what it may sink after the trees are planted, because this would
bury the roots as well as the stem of the tree, and would be
nearly as fatal an error as planting on an unprepared border.
It may appear rather questionable, because contrary to the
general practice, to employ nothing more than this pure and
primitive loam, in no way enriched; but borders containing
soil richly and liberally manured, more especially in low and
wet situations, hold an overabundant supply of moisture, which
does not escape either by percolation or transpiration: hence the
presentation of immense quantities of impure and crude fluids,
producing all those baneful effects already described. Under
every variety of circumstance, therefore, it is important to avoid
the mixing of any kind of manure whatever with the soil which
I have here recommended, and would urge to be used in every
situation where the peach is cultivated for its fruit. A border
formed upon the principle which I have endeavoured to
describe, and the specified kind of soil, will secure the most
happy results. Extraordinary annual quantities of wood will
never be produced; therefore, severe pruning will be obviated,
the age of the tree very much extended, and its fruitfulness most
effectually sustained.

The following select list of peaches and nectarines are the
best sorts in cultivation, and may be relied upon as excellent, if
procured true to their names. To assist in their identifica-
tion, I have appended the forms of ‘the Jeaves and flowers, as
given by Mr. Thompson of the London Horticultural Society,
who is by far the best pomologist in modern times. Having
proved the whole in the following list, I speak with some con-
fidence as to their merits; I have placed them in their order of
ripening. Those marked with an asterisk are indispensable in
a small collection.

NECTARINES.

Names. Leaves. Flowers.
Hunt’s Tawny - - serrated, without glands small.
*Downton - - - reniform glands - - small.
* Klruge - - - reniform glands - ~ small.
Brugnon - - - reniform glands - - small.
* Violette Hative - - reniform glands — - - small.
Murry - » .'= | geniform¢lands - ~- ‘small
Pitmaston Orange - __ globose glands - - large.

New white - - - reniform glands — - - large.

Culture of the Peach in the open Air. 67

PEACHES.
Names. Leaves. Flowers. .
* Grosse Mignonne globose glands = = large.
* Red Magdalen (of Miller serrated, without glands large.
Spring Grove - globose glands - - large.
* Royal George - = serrated, without glands small.
* Noblesse - - - serrated, without glands large.
Malta - - - - serrated, without glands large.
George the Fourth - globose glands - = small.
* Royal Charlotte - serrated, without glands small.
Bellegarde’ - - globose glands - - small.
Barrington = - - globose glands - - large.
Chancellor - - = reniform glands = = small.
*Late Admirable . - - globose glands - - small.
Nivette - - - globose glands - - small.
Morrisania Pound - globose glands - - small.

The above collection contains nothing but freestone peaches
and nectarines; unhappily there exists a division of opinion as
to whether clingstones should be entirely rejected: for my own
part I have long since made up my mind never to plant a
clingstone, considering the extensive assortment of first-rate
kinds of melters from which we have to choose.

The time I would recommend to plant the peach tree, in
preference to any other, would be the end of October and be-
ginning of November, because the sap is not then wholly inactive.
They may, however, be planted with considerable success, from
that time until the end of February. Select trees the third
season after budding which have been carefully trained in the
nursery: those that have produced the shoots of equal and
moderate strength should be preferred: there is nothing so
desirable as seeing a tree go the right way at first; therefore,
this is a point worth attention. In planting, never dig a pit,
but lay the roots carefully on the surface of the border, and cover
them not deeper than 3in, It is advisable, after planting, to
cover the hill with a little loose litter, to protect the roots Teno
drying winds. ‘The distances between the trees will depend
upon the height of the wall and the width of the border; the
space between them will therefore vary from 14 ft. to 20 ft.
Should any of the trees, after having been planted two or three
years, be growing more vigorously than is desired, I would re-
commend their being taken up and replanted; great caution will
be requisite in this operation to preserve uninjured all their
fibres: a three-pronged fork must be used, and every precaution
maintained throughout the performance. When the tree is com-
pletely out of the ground, level in the soil and gently tread it,
keeping it rather above than under the original level of the
border; the tree will then be planted completely on the surface,
and covered as in the former instance: this should be done in

October, so that the soil should be properly consolidated before
F 2

68 Culture of the Peach in the open Air.

the pruning and nailing season arrives; otherwise the plant will
hang by the shreds as the soil settles down, and expose the roots,
to the manifest injury of the tree. This is a point worth
attention in all new-planted trees, especially if in an entirely
new-formed border.

Much has been written on training the peach tree, and every
scientific cultivator has his favourite system. The kitchen-
garden at Bicton, which I originally planned and planted about
nine years ago, contains a greater number of fine specimens of
training, than I have ever witnessed in any one garden; therefore,
to detail the manner of training so successfully pursued there
under my direction may suffice for our present purpose. I
may, however, remark by the way, that the system, because it is
a system, recommended by Seymour and described in Loudon’s
Gardener’s Magazine for 1826, has not been so generally
adopted as its apparent simplicity would have induced us to
expect. Not having seen it either extensively or very successfully
practised, its superiority became a questionable matter; there-
fore I adhered to another mode, presenting to me superior
claims, because conforming more to the natural character and
habits of the tree, advantages in my humble opinion not to be
overlooked; as by this system a more regular distribution and
elaboration of the sap is maintained, and thereby assistance to
provide the kind and quantity of wood so desirable to induce
health, secure a crop, and prolong the age of the tree. The
mode of training which I commenced with in 1832 is also
described in Loudon’s Gardener’s Magazine for 1834, and seems
to have been successfully practised by the able author of that
paper for thirty years. ‘This system deviates from the old fan
manner of training, by regularly bending the branches in a
curvilinear manner from the bole of the tree to their extremities,
and giving them a slight tend-
ency to the top of the wall. In
this plan of training, the grand
principle is, to elongate the under ,~
side branches, so as to give them
precedence of the central ones;
this will regulate the propul-
sion and distribution of the sap, |
and moderate the shoots in the
centre of the tree. By the _
adoption of this very simple and Big aa anes ME
natural system of training the
peach tree, various inexplicable failures will be avoided; ‘such as
premature decay, an unequal quantity of young wood in the
centre of the tree, and the constant and grievous calamity of
Josing the entire under limbs, and completely disfiguring it for

Culture of the Peach in the open Air. 69

Fig. 21. * A full-grown Peach Tree, trained in Mr. Errington’s manner.

ever. The subject of training might fill a volume to little
purpose: enough has been said to explain the principle which I
have preferred in practice, and am solicitous to see generally
adopted.

To those who have acted upon these principles, the process
of pruning will be rendered a less difficult matter than under
more untoward circumstances, especially at winter pruning, when
it is indispensable to cut away enormous quantities of young
wood. This will be in a great measure obviated, particularly
when a system of summer pruning is practised. Wherever the
peach is cultivated upon scientific principles, an annual dis-—
budding will always take place when the young shoots are about
2 in. long, which will generally be about the end of May. Select
the shoots always for next year’s bearing as near as possible to
the bottom of the present bearing wood, and rub all the others
off unless there is any scarcity of young wood, when it may be
requisite to leave for winter regulation a few shoots occasionally.
As to the buds which are intended to allow fruit to swell, instead
of rubbing them clean off close to the shoot, it will be better to
-pinch them out half an inch from the wood, as the few leaves
left at the base will assist in swelling the fruit. Any shoots that
are intended for bearing wood and are growing out too vigo-
rously, should be stopped back; and any of the leaders which
may appear unusually strong should have their points pinched
out, that they may make fresh growth and throw out laterals.
The. winter pruning should commence the last fortnight in
February, and end the second week in March; during this
period the flower and leaf buds will be readily distinguished, the
former by their fat obtuse form, the latter by their pointed form,

enabling the operator to proceed with certainty and rapidity.
F 3

70 Culture of the Peach in the open Arr.

Thin out the bearing wood to about 6 in. apart, and occasionally
cut out some of the intervening small branches where any thing
like confusion exists, and shorten back every bearing shoot at a
leaf bud, one half or two thirds, according to its strength; and
any branches affected with decay or gumming should be re-
moved, and the tree regulated accordingly. In pruning, always
cut behind the bud and about a quarter of an inch above it.

I have always until lately entertained the strongest aversion
from all kinds of washes, except clean water, but have been com-
pelled by adverse visitations to have recourse to something besides
water. The summer of 1838 will long be remembered by me,
as a season when peach trees suffered greater injury from aphi-
des, than in all others put together during my remembrance. No
sooner did the leaves make an effort to develope themselves in
the spring, and throughout the whole summer, than they were
attacked and utterly destroyed. I applied in their turn pure
water, lime water, tobacco water, soapy water, and powderings
of sulphur, but all my efforts to subdue them proved utterly
unavailing. ‘The attention the trees received during the entire
season was beyond all precedent, and at the close of the autumn
I had the mortification of witnessing all my assiduity and appli-
cation totally frustrated. From the high condition in which the
roots were, and the fruitless efforts made to produce wood, it
may be supposed the extravasated sap was oozing out in all
directions. ‘The injury thus inflicted upon the most splendid
trees I ever beheld, was to me heart-rending; principal branches
were, in some instances, so seriously injured, as to render them
of no further use ; and two beautiful trees were damaged to such
an extent, that I dug them up, — with what feelings I will leave
my brethren of the blue apron to guess. In this state of des-
peration, I was compelled to try experiments, which were hap-
pily attended with the most satisfactory results. Lime water was
strongly recommended by some eminent horticulturists, as a
preventive to attacks of insects, and every disease to which
peach trees are subject, by keeping them regularly syringed with
it during the winter. This I found beneficial, but it bore no com-
parison to the following composition :—half a peck of unslaked
lime, a quarter of a peck of fresh soot, two pounds of soft or
black soap, and one pound of black sulphur (sulphur vivum).
The soap was dissolved in a vessel with boiling water, and the
other ingredients afterwards mixed with it, and just as much
water added as reduced the whole to a creamy consistency. As
soon as-the pruning was finished, and previously to nailing, I
made one man regularly besmear every part of the tree, branch
by branch ; a fine day was selected for the purpose, which soon
dried the composition, showing any place that had escaped. In
order to secure to every part a coat of the mixture, I caused

Culture of the Peach in the open Air. 71

another man to follow about half an hour afterwards, and care-
fully wash every crevice that had been missed by the first per-
son. ‘The composition was applied with a piece of soft cloth
or sponge, and used as hot as the hand could be suffered in it.
Great caution was necessary not to rub off the flower buds,
which at this season are very prominent. Those trees onlv
that were most seriously injured were washed with this mixture.
As the season advanced my hopes brightened, and I had the
gratification of witnessing the most complete success; trees,
of which there remained but the skeletons of what they once
were, the mere remnants of former grandeur, presenting a de-
sree of health unexampled as far as my experience goes, clothed
with a redundancy of wonderfully large and densely green foliage,
and not a curled or blotched leaf visible. ‘The trees washed
with lime water were in good condition, but not entirely free
from occasional attacks of aphides. ‘The difference in health of
those syringed with lime water, and the others that were washed
with the mixture, could be easily distinguished the whole length
of the garden. Aphides are more particularly generated in dry
and clear weather, and I am convinced they cannot exist, much
less reproduce themselves, on trees clothed with this composi-
tion during the influence of a clear sun. ‘The noxious exhala-
tions may probably be the cause of this. Having pointed out
the efficacy of this wash to several eminent practical gardeners,
they concurred as toits apparent wonderful excellence; therefore,
after the publicity which I now give it, it will remain for others
to prove its utility.

In nailing peach trees, I would recommend the use of new
shreds, and I have always directed the dark-coloured ones to be
selected for this purpose, as presenting by contrast a much
neater appearance; the pieces employed as shreds are generally
cut too large, little strength being required, as they are only
expected to last one year. I would, however, strongly insist
upon all peach walls having copper wire extended longitudinally,
and fastened to eyes let into the wall. The wires should be about
6 or 7 inches apart, and the trees fastened to them with bast liga-
tures. There is much to approve in this, and to recommend it
for general adoption, both as regards present as well as ultimate
economy : a practical man will at once see the great advantages
resulting from such a system, and the uninitiated will soon dis-
cover that a man can tie two trees in the same time he could
nail one, and his walls will not be subject to the injury of having
annually some thousands of nails driven into them.

Whenever the blossoms begin to be partially developed, I
advise protecting the trees with bunting: this will be money
well expended; the bunting will be found very useful during

F 4

72 Culture of the Peach in the open Air.

summer for other purposes, such as shading plants in hothouses,
and covering various kinds of fruits from birds and wasps. The
bunting should be stretched from the coping of the wall to the
ground, and fastened 3 ft. from the bottom of the wall. ‘This
protection will be of great service to keep off the cold rains and
frosts, so prevalent at this season: during fine days the bunting
should be removed, and the trees exposed to the full influence
of the sun’s rays; and when the petals of the blossoms are all
dropped, the bunting should be entirely taken away. From this
time until the fruit begins to ripen, and immediately after it is
gathered, refreshing and sometimes copious waterings with the
engine should be given, according to the state of the atmosphere ;
which will keep the trees clean and free from red spider. Clear
lime water may with advantage be applied when insects abound.

Peach tree, and indeed all other kinds of fruit tree, borders
should be occasionally forked up; no spade should ever be per-
mitted in such a place, nay, not even amongst gooseberry bushes:
the manifest injury annually committed by this implement, and
the disposition to use it amongst common labourers in gardens,
ought to put every ardent cultivator on his guard. No vege-
tables should ever be cultivated on fruit tree borders: this would
provoke an annual supply of manure, and be the forerunner of
all the evils which I am so anxious to see banished from the
common practice of gardening.

Far less attention has hitherto been paid to thinning peaches
and nectarines in a young state, than our limited practice would
induce us to follow: on this depends the full size of the fruit,
and with it the flavour; and on the regularity and frequency of
the process the security of the crop in a great measure rests.

The first thinning should take place at the same time with the
disbudding; the second when the summer shoots are sufficiently
advanced to require nailing or tying; and, finally, at the time
of the second nailing of the current year’s shoots, which will be
just after stoning, when no danger need be apprehended of the
fruit falling off. During the period of stoning, I would insist
on the suspension of all waterings, particularly to the border;
but, as soon as the swelling begins after stoning, I always deem
it advisable to keep the border moist with moderate waterings,
until the fruit is approaching to maturity; this assistance, when
the last effort is making, will wonderfully aid the trees to swell
their fruit to a full size.

I flatter myself that these observations on the culture of an
important fruit, may be of use to some of the members of our
profession. They have at least the merit of being the result of
patient attention and practical experience.

Exeter, Jan, 1841.

Three Crops of Grapes in One House. 73

Art. VI. Mode of destroying the Green Fly on Peach Trees.
By Corswo.p.

As soon as the insects begin to appear, I prepare to get rid of
them by making the water-pipes as hot as I can. I then fill the
house with tobacco smoke, and water the pipes afterwards, so as
to fill the atmosphere of the house with steam, at the same time
that it is full of smoke. After the steam is condensed on the
leaves and points of the young shoots, globules of the tobacco-
oil will be found on the surface of the globules of water, some-
thing in the same way as the prismatic colours are shown in a
soap-bubble blown from a tobacco-pipe. This operation not
only completely destroys the green fly, but also the scale upon
the upper surface of the leaves of orange trees, because the
insects are exposed to the descending vapour. ‘This vapour,
when deposited on the leaves, has quite a caustic taste. I have
practised this method for years, and always with complete
success,
Jan. 17. 1841.

Art VII. On growing Three Crops of Grapes in One House.
By T. S. W.

In your notice of the gardens at Hungerton Hall, Vol. XVI.
p- 570., you describe a mode, practised there, of growing three
crops of grapes in one house in one year as being new, and well
‘deserving of imitation. ‘That it is a mode rarely adopted by
gardeners I am aware; and I would wish to draw their attention
to this most important subject. Frequently have I regretted
seeing vineries made no manner of use of one half the year,
when, by a little management, ripe grapes might be produced
in them seven or eight months in the year; so that one house
might serve the purpose of two or three.

This method of growing grapes was ,practised several: years
ago at a place a few miles north of London, where I filled the
situation of under-gardener. The house was 45 ft. long, and 18 ft.
wide: a pit occupied the centre, formerly used for fruiting pines.
The flue entered the back of the house at one end, and was
carried round the front and under the back pathway into the
chimney at the same end the flue entered. Open wooden work
was placed over the back flue to walk upon.

Vines were planted in the front pathway next the pit, one
under each rafter: these produced the first crop of grapes. We
began forcing them in the beginning of February, and they were
ripe by the middle or latter end of June. Those for the second
crop were planted outside the house, in the front. They were
introduced into the house in the latter end of March or beginning

74: Culture of Peas and Beans for Transplanting.

of April, and trained over the front flue and pathway, as well as
up some of the rafters: these ripened their fruit in August.

The vine producing the last crop was planted at the front
corner of one end outside: it was carried with a single stem up
the end rafter to the back wall, where it was trained just under
the coping to the full length of the house. A shoot or secondary
branch from the main stem was left so as to come in at each
rafter of the house when introduced. This was performed
about the beginning of September, by entirely removing the
end of the house for the purpose, which was afterwards replaced.
The principal stem was trained to the wires near the back wall,
and the smaller branches down the rafters towards the front.
At this time, the first crop of grapes being cut, the vines were
taken across the flue and outside the front sashes, there to
remain until the February following.

The vine planted at the end was a cutting from the celebrated
Valentine’s vine, and an exceeding good bearer. I have known
it to ripen off upwards of 300 bunches; and, although not
extraordinarily large, the berries were well swelled and coloured.
I do not recollect ever seeing a shriveled berry upon the vine.
I have cut grapes from it on the 8th of February, and they were
then in excellent condition. |

I feel convinced vineries might be built, with little extra
expense, that would answer the purpose of growing three, if not
four, crops of grapes in one year: and at some future time I
may possibly send you a plan of one well adapted for the pur-
pose. [We shall be glad to receive it, and lay it before our
readers. |

Sussex, Dec. 26. 1840.

Art. VIII. A Method of sowing Peas and Beans in Boxes for Trans-
planting. By H.O.

I see to draw the attention of your readers to the following
method of growing and transplanting peas and beans, without
materially injuring their roots.

Procure two boards, about 6 in. broad, and as long as the
border into which you intend to transplant them is wide, say 8
or 9 feet; bevel off one edge of each board; on the edge thus
beveled of one of the boards drive in three or four small staples
at equal distances, and the same distance from each end as from
each other. On the beveled edge of the other board drive three
or four small hooks, or pieces of strong wire bent, to hook in
the staples, at the same distance from each other as the staples :
by now hooking them together, they will form two sides of an
equilateral triangle. At each end of one of the boards should
be nailed a piece of wood of the shape of the above-mentioned

Improved Mode of blanching Sea-kale and Rhubarb. 75

triangle, and the other board must be fastened to this by hooks
and eyes. It is now ready to be filled with soil for sowing the
peas; but it will require two blocks of wood to stand upon, one
at each end. ‘Therefore, have a triangular piece cut out, or two
blocks of any length cut so as to hold any quantity of troughs
you wish. When they are to be transplanted, drills should be
drawn, and the troughs placed in them: unhook the two ends ;
the side boards are then easily unhooked and taken away, when
the peas will fall into the trench, and may immediately be
moulded up.
Essex, Jan. 6. 1841.

Art. IX. An accidental Discovery of an improved Mode of
blanching Sea-kale and Rhubarb with Peat Soil. By Davip
ROBERTSON.

In 1824, being then gardener to Captain George Bryan, Jen-
kinstown, in the county of Kilkenny, the sea-kale beds were
adjoining the frame ground; and, in consequence of some im-
provements, a quantity of peat was removed in November, part
of which was laid above the beds. In clearing it away in
January, the kale that was under the peat was finely blanched,
extremely clean and white, and fit for the table; while that
portion which was not covered with peat had not begun to
vegetate.

Being much struck with the rapid progress of its growth, and
convinced of the excellence of the covering thus accidentally
employed, the following season, in November, I had a bed
covered with free peat soil to the depth of 10 or 12 inches, and
forced with stable litter in the usual way; and it was fit to cut at
Christmas. In this case the use of the peat is chiefly for blanch-
ing. When the season is more advanced, stable litter may be dis-
pensed with; and beds covered with peat in November, or later,
according as it is required, would be fit to gather in the inter-
mediate season between the forced sea-kale and that in the open
ground which had not been covered with peat. The peat
evidently forwards its growth a few weeks without forcing with
litter ; acting, doubtless, as a non-conductor to the heat in the
soil, in the same manner as a covering of snow.

Rhubarb may be successfully treated in the same manner,
only it requires a greater depth of peat, according to its height;
say 15 in.

As far as my observation extends, the peat is far superior,
for both sea-kale and rhubarb, to coal ashes or other sub-
stances, and also better than pots, the kale or rhubarb being
more effectually blanched and better flavoured.

Stanwell Nursery, Edinburgh, Dec. 1840.

76 Culture of Celery.

Art. X. Comparative Results from cultivating Nine Sorts of Celery.
By JAMEs Seymour, Gardener to the Countess of Bridgewater, at
Ashridge Park, Herts.

AccorDING to promise, I send you the following remarks on
nine sorts of celery, which I grew in the year 1840. They
were treated all alike as to the time of sowing, planting, &c.
The seed was sown on the 16th of March, and afterwards treated
as I recommend in my article on celery, in your Volume for
1840, p. 91. I hope that other gardeners will send you an
account of the experiments which they make on vegetables,
fruits, flowers, &c., which I consider is always of the greatest
importance to your readers, and particularly so when they come
from practical men. I shall be glad to see the opinions and
remarks of gardeners that have grown the following sorts of celery,
their manner of treatment, &c.

Sorts. No. of Plants.| Proved solid. | Proved hollow. Remarks.
Red Celery.
Bailey’s Gigantic 63 52 11 Grows quick, but runs soon.
Manchester Large Giant 69 61 8 Coarse, and bad-tasted.
Perkins’s Large 62 26 36 Very bad ; not worth growing.
Russian Pink 67 25 42 Do. do.
Seymour’s Solid 141 all none Very solid, of a _ peculiar
growth, and fine flavour.
White Celery.
Kentucky, or Lion’s Paw 20 all none Very solid; of sldw growth ;
too broad in the leaf stalk.
Law’s Giant 68 all none Very solid ; a good sort.
Siberian 20 all none Very solid ; a good sort.
Seymour’s Superb White 324 all none A very superior sort, of large

size, good flavour, and well
adapted for early crops.

These remarks were made in September. The plot of celery
was inspected by the following gardeners, viz., Mr. H.C. Ogle,
gardener to A. E. Fuller, Esq., Rose Hill, near Robertsbridge,
Sussex ; R. C. Kingston, gardener to R. Fleetwood Shaw, Esq.
Brantingham Hall, near Hull; William Pinkerton, gardener
to Sir Ashley Cooper, Bart., Gadebridge, Hemel Hempsted,
Herts; Mr. James Stone, late of Syon House Gardens, Isle-
worth, Middlesex ; and many more who have paid Ashridge
gardens a visit during the summer of 1840: and all have highly
praised our two sorts, and considered that they were decidedly
the best, particularly the Superb White.

The Superb White is a very good sort for early growing, as it
is the very last to start of all others I know. Indeed it is rarely
to be found to run at all, if properly attended to with water, &c.
till it is all consumed; which is not the case with any other sort
I am acquainted with.

The Superb White has perhaps been grown to as large
a size as any other white sort of celery in cultivation, if not
larger; and is considered by all who have tasted it to excel
all others in excellence of flavour and brittleness, when well

On placing the Entrance to Beehives. rie

blanched, as it has none of that stringiness which is so common
in all the larger sorts that I have grown. ‘This sort requires a
longer time to blanch than many other sorts, as it is so very solid
and firm in the stalk.

The Superb White has been grown very fine by Mr. George
Seymour, gardener to His Grace the Duke of St. Albans, Red-
borne Hall, Brigg, Lincolnshire; Mr. James Kingston, Salt-
marshe, Eland: Yorkshire (see Gardeners Magazine, Dec.
1839, and Feb. 1840) ; and last summer by Mr. Robert Hinsley,
Carlton Bridge, Snaith, Yorkshire. One head of this sort
weighed near ly 15 Ib. (hen dressed for the table), and two
more weighed from 11 lb. to 12 1b. each head; and two long
rows weighed on an average from 9 lb. to 10 lb. each head. The
seed of these was sown in February, and planted in July, in
trenches, with an abundant supply of good rotten dung, mixed
with a fine loamy soil (warp), and grown near to the river side
(Aire and Calder). The plants were direct from my father, of
Carlton Hall (the seat of Lord Beaumont). I may likewise
add, that the Superb White is much approved of by Mr.
George Mills, gardener to the Baroness De Rothschild, of Gun-
nersbury Park, Acton, Middlesex. In a letter, dated 22d Sept.
1840, Mr. Mills says: “ I am much pleased with your celery,
it is doing well with me. I have none I like so well.” I might
add adhe names, but I consider what I have said already will
be sufficient to induce most gardeners to give it a trial. Messrs.
H. Lane and Son, Nurserymen, Great Berkhampstead, Herts,
having raised a good deal of seed of both sorts last year, will,
I have no doubt, be very punctual in attending to all favours
committed to their charge.

Ashridge Kitchen Gardens, Jan. 16. 1841.

Art. XI. Remarks on placing the Entrance to Beehives.
By Joun WiGHTON.

SoME apiarians have lately advanced that, if bees were left to
their own choice, they would prefer descending to their cells, to
ascending. If this be correct, the common mend of placing
the entrances in beehives must be wrong. But this I do not
believe, nor do I think that descending is more conformable to
the natural habit of bees.

With a view to test this, I placed a strong swarm in a wooden
hive, 6 ft. high, and 7 in. square in the inside. ‘This was divided
into two equal apartments. In the lower one I made two en-
trances, one at the bottom, the other at the top; and in the
upper one, I made one entrance in the centre. I put the bees
into the lower division, and closed the opening underneath,
They began to form their cells at the top in the usual way.

78 On placing the Entrance to Beehives.

Three days afterwards I opened the lower hole, and the bees
forsook the upper one, preferring to enter below. Why they
did this may appear strange; but it can be accounted for, not, as
some would imagine, from their having blocked up the upper
opening with their combs, which was not the fact, but from the
singular position of the bees when forming their cells. This
requires explanation, particularly for those who are not acquainted
with their very curious mode of beginning their cells.

To an ordinary observer, a swarm beginning to form their
cells appears only a confused mass of bees, hanging together
in a dense cluster: but, on closer examination, the busy workers
within may be seen through the numerous openings left all round
the cluster for those bees to have free ingress and egress, which
are employed in forming the cells. The bees in my hive having
ascended to the top, as already mentioned, began of course to
form their cells in the manner described. When they came to
the openings in the cluster, it was easier for them to drop into
the empty space below, to get out, than to make their way to a
particular point above: for, in this case, they must either have
travelled round the cluster, or first dropped down, and then
crept up the side of the hive, in order to get out at the hole
above; and the same inconvenience would have attended their
return to the hive. All this I observed by having glass at the
back of the hive: and it was surprising to see how fast the bees
dropped down to get out of the hive, after I had opened the
lower hole. One might almost suppose that whoever invented
the common hive was aware of the fact just mentioned ; for its
construction is admirably adapted to the formation of the cells.

The charge against bees, of their losing time by having to
ascend through their hives, is not worth attention; at least I
had no reason to complain of it in my six-feet hive, for the bees
filled the lower half of it in a fortnight. After that, I admitted
them into the upper division. ‘They went up at once to the top,
and began their cells as they had done in the space below. Al-
though there was an entrance in the centre of this upper division,
they never made use of it, but preferred going up and down
through the whole hive. To ascertain if this was not the mere
effect of habit, I closed the lower opening. This caused much
confusion at first, but the bees soon got used to the upper en-
trance. After a few days, I opened the lower one again; and
they soon forsook the top opening, and seemed pleased to go out
and in again by their favourite way.

It may be asked what caused the bees still to prefer the lower
entrance, when their combs were finished, and the previous
reason of their clustering no longer existed. ‘To this I have to
observe, that, the combs being fixed at the top, there was not
the same thoroughfare left to pass between them as below. Bees

Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society. 79

usually place their combs north and south, and continue them
to within half an inch of the bottom of the hive, which allows
a sufficient passage to go to their cells. Suppose, however, that
a thoroughfare had been left at the top: I still believe that the
bees would prefer getting to their cells by the lower way. Some
deny this, and insist that they must find it easier to go down
than to ascend with their load, on entering the hive. Judging,
however, from the actual fact of their preferring to ascend with
their loads, it may be fairly concluded that they even find it
easier. It must be remembered that the honey bag is in the
hinder part of their body; and its weight might tend to propel
them forward too powerfully when descending. It is also to be
observed, that wasps and hornets enter their nests from below. If
all that has been said should not have convinced the reader that
the natural disposition of bees is to ascend, let him place a bee in
the middle of a window-pane, and he will always find it creep
upwards before it descends.
Cossey Hall Gardens, July 25, 1840.

REVIEWS.

Art. I. The Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England.
Vol. I. Part LV.; and Vol. Il. Part I. Jan. 184].

WE noticed Part III. of the Ist volume of this excellent Journal immediately
on its appearance (see our Volume for 1840, p. 169.), and the Parts that
have since been published are now before us. They abound with excellent
articles, most of which may be perused with advantage by the gardener as
well as the farmer. An experiment with Poittevin’s Manure (desiccated night-
soil), laid on at the rate of 36 bushels per acre, proved it to be equal in effect,
for the first year, to farmyard manure laid on at the rate of 25 tons per acre;
but whether it will “carry the different crops through the course equally well
with the farmyard manure” is very doubtful. — An article on the Parsnep, by
Col. Le Couteur, shows that the average crop, per statute acre, is from 9
to 11 tons, but small spots have yielded at the rate of 27 tons per acre ;
a quantity nearly sufficient for 10 cows during the six winter months. Pars-
neps, if boiled, will fatten oxen, pigs, or poultry, in an “ extraordinary man-
ner ;” and they are an excellent preparatory crop for wheat. An experiment
is now in progress to ascertain the comparative value of the parsnep and new
white carrot. Several experiments with nitrate of soda seem to prove that
it increases the produce of the Gramineze.—An article on Animal Manures
contains much chemical and theoretical matter, and also a great deal of a
directly practical value. The nature of the manure of animals depends, of
course, upon the kind of food by which they are nourished. The most valu-
able part of the manure produced by every animal is its urine; and, in using
it, it should either be mixed with water and fermented, or mixed with straw
or soil. We shall, however, prepare an article on the subject for this Maga-
zine, from the very long, elaborate, and most valuable one now before us.

From a paper on the Management of Bees, we make the following extract,
which we recommend to our correspondent Mr. Wighton : —

“ T have kept bees more than twenty years ; have tried Huish’s, Nutt’s, and
various other plans ; but the one suggested by this industrious insect itself I

80 Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society.

have found to be the most simple, cheap, and successful ; and it will not cost
the cottager more than sixpence to adopt it, in addition to his old hives.

“« Some years ago I placed an empty butter-tub under the board on which
the hive rested: the sun cracked the board, and the bees, enlarging the open-
ing, took possession of the tub, and, after filling their own hive, deposited
26 lb. of honey and comb in the tub below. This I took possession of for
my own use, leaving their hive full of honey for their winter’s consumption.
By improving on this simple plan, I have carried off the prizes for honey at
the Henley Horticultural Society for the last four years. A board, half an
inch in thickness, 18in. in width, and perforated with two holes, each an
inch in diameter, is placed between the hive and the butter-tub. The tub .
should be placed under the hive as early as March; the bees having a great
dislike to any disturbance of their arrangements. I last year took upwards
of 40lb. of honey in this way, although the season was so bad, and an ample
supply of food was left for the bees to subsist on during the winter. This
plan will prove a good substitute for the ‘ rear’ used to enlarge the common
hive ; with this advantage, that a supply of honey can be obtained from the
strong swarms as well as the old hives.

“| have never found occasion to feed the bees from which honey had been
taken in the mode described ; but, previously to its adoption, I was in the
habit of feeding them with coarse sugar boiled with beer, and a little old wax
comb, to the consistence of a syrup. As an experiment, I once fed some
bees with treacle made from grating 112 lb. of beet root, expressing from it
one gallon of juice, and boiling this with one teaspoonful of sulphuric acid
(commonly called oil of vitriol), and three teaspoonfuls of common chalk
or whitening in powder, which will clarify it and throw off all impurities, leay-
ing, on evaporation, a clear syrup fit for feeding bees.” (p. 204.)

Part I. of Vol. II. contains a Report on the Diseases of Wheat, by the
Rey. Professor Henslow, in which the fungi, smut, dust, bunt, rust, mildew,
ergot, pepper-corn, and wheat-midge are described, and also the means of
preventing them, or of alleviating their effects.—A paper on the White or
Belgian Carrot shows this to be a most valuable root, producing a crop “ not
only much more valuable per ton than any other green crop we have, but also
heavier per acre, and raised at less expense, by at least one half, than that
attending the cultivation of the turnip.” (p. 40.) Lord Ducie found the
Early Horn Carrot more productive than the Altringham Carrot, the produce
being at the rate of 18 tons 15 cwt. per acre, and the expense 6/. per acre—An
article of the Agriculture of the Netherlands, by the Rev. W. L. Rham, has
some remarks on liquid manure, and on the treatise on animal manures
before mentioned. The following quotations are pregnant with instruction of
the most useful kind :—

“ The most rapid improver of loose sands is rich liquid manure, affording
immediate nourishment to plants, which otherwise, for want of moisture,
would languish, even with an abundance of solid dung; for this last remains
altogether inert, until it be moistened and partly dissolved. When the fibres
of the roots spread, they bind the loose sand, and prevent the too rapid eya-
poration and percolation of the moisture. These roots remain in the soil
when the crop is reaped, and by their decay afford organic matter for the
nourishment of the next crop. Hence it is evident that the plants which
have long spreading roots, if they can be made to vegetate vigorously by an
ample supply of liquid manure, greatly improve very light sands ; and, in pro-
cess of time, by the decay of the vegetable fibres, produce such an increase
of humus as entirely to change the quality of the soil.

“ The collection and preparation of liquid manure is an object of primary
importance with the Flemish farmer. Every farm has, near or under the stables
and cow-houses, one or more capacious tanks, into which the urine of the
animals and the washings of the stables how; and every exertion is made to
increase the quantity, and improve the quality, of the tank liquor.

“ The tanks are generally sunk below the level of the ground, and have the

Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society. ; 81

sides built of brick, and the bottom paved: they are of various dimensions,
according to the number of cows and horses on the farm.

“ The value of cow’s urine, with other animal substances dissolved in it, is
universally admitted by all the farmers of sandy soils in the Netherlands : the
theory of its preparation and application to the soil remains, however, yet
involved in some degree of obscurity; and some eminent chemists have
doubted whether the collection of it in a tank is the most economical mode
of preparing it for the soil.

“In the very valuable Treatise on Animal Manures, by ‘Sprengel, it is
more than insinuated, that the advantages of the urine tank are much over-
rated; and that it is better to mix the solid and liquid parts of dung to-
gether, and form them into composts with rich earth, as is often done in
England and other countries, than to preserve the fluid portion by itself in a
tank, to be used separately on the land, after it has gone through a certain
stage of decomposition. Without disputing the correctness of the chemical prin-
ciples on which this opinion is founded, we may hesitate before we condemn
or undervalue a practice which has produced such wonderful effects in the
improvement of the poor sands in the Netherlands.

“ Liquid manure may be applied to plants in every stage of their growth,

if it be judiciously diluted, so as not to injure the young and delicate roots by
its caustic nature. It invigorates their growth more than we could anticipate
from a knowledge of its solid component parts. It is no doubt sooner ex-
hausted, because it is rapidly absorbed by the roots, and its elements enter
into new combinations. If some of the more volatile parts, as ammonia, fly
off in the process of decomposition which goes on in the tank, it is probable
that a much greater portion of these elements flies off from the solid dung
while it remains in the ground, and before it is in a fit state to be taken up
by the roots, which can only happen when rain renders it liquid. All those
who have had long experience of the good effects of liquid manure on light
soils, persevere in its use, whatever objections may be urged theoretically to
its being preserved separately.
» “ On stiff impervious soils, the use of liquid manure may not be so advan-
tageous, and the reasonings of chemists may be correct. On these soils it is
seldom used, except when they are in grass, or when cabbages are planted ;
and composts prepared with straw, earth, and dung, with the liquid portions
occasionally poured over them, are found to be a more effectual and lasting
manure. The Swiss, whose principal object is to have a supply of food for
their cattle in winter, when the mountain pastures are covered with snow, and
who devote much of their attention to the cultivation of roots and artificial
grasses, use the liquid manure in a very condensed state, collecting the water
which has been poured over their heaps of dung, after it has filtered through
them, and been saturated with all the soluble portions of the dung. This,
which they call dizier in French, and mist-wasser or giille in German, is car-
ried on the land immediately after the grass, saintfoin, or lucern has been mown,
and produces a second and third crop in avery short time. Cabbages, potatoes,
and the varieties of the beet are invigorated in the same manner ; and thus, in
the short summers of the high mountain valleys, crops are brought to maturity,
which, without the use of liquid manure, would never have had time to ripen.
But let it not be imagined that either the Flemings or the Swiss undervalue
the solid manure which is produced by the mixture of litter with the dung of
animals, collected in heaps, where it heats and decomposes. They are as
careful of this, and as anxious to increase it by every means in their power,
as the best English farmer can be.

“« Tn order to increase as much as possible the quantity of solid manure,
there is in most farms a place for the general reception of every kind of vege-
table matter which can be collected ; this is a shallow excavation, of a square
or oblong form, of which the bottom has a gentle slope towards the end. It
is generally lined on three sides with a wall of brick to keep the earth from
falling in; and this wall sometimes rises a foot or more above the level of the

1841,— II. 3d Ser. G

82 Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society.

ground. In this pit are collected parings of grass sods from the sides of
roads and ditches, weeds taken out of the fields or canals, and every kind of
refuse from the gardens : all this is occasionally moistened with the washings
of the stables, or any other rich liquid ; a small portion of dung and urine is
added, if necessary, and when it has been accumulating for some time it is
taken out, a portion of lime is added, and the whole is well mixed together :
thus it forms the beginning of a heap, which rises gradually, and in due time
gives a very good supply of rich vegetable mould or compost, well adapted to
every purpose to which manure is applied.’ (Outlines of Hlemish Husbundry,
« 22.

Pa i. the preparation of the land for the different crops, the Flemings and
Dutch do not use less solid manure than we do, and the liquid is an ad-
ditional means of producing a certain and abundant crop, and not merely a
substitute for the dung heap.

“ The great secret in the improvement of poor land is to increase its ferti-
lity by judiciously stirring, pulverising, and mixing together the different earths
of which it may be composed; adding those which are different, where it
can be done without too great expense of labour or capital ; and, above all,
impregnating it throughout with portions of humus, that is, organic matter in
a state of decomposition.

“ The mechanical texture of the soil is of the first importance ; for on this
depends the proper retention of moisture, without superabundance or stag-
nation, which implies that the subsoil is naturally porous, or made so arti-
ficially, especially in northern climates, where the evaporation is slow, and
much rain falls throughout the year.

“ The roots of plants, in their tender state, must find pores in which they
can shoot and increase in bulk, for which the air and water are indispensable.
They must also find substances which can yield them carbon, ina soluble state,
as carbonic acid, which is produced in all vegetable fermentation.

“In water and air are contained all the other elements of vegetables, and
even carbon in a small proportion. If the pores are so large as to let the
moisture through, or allow it to evaporate readily, vegetation ceases, and
the plant soon dies: if they are filled with water, so as to exclude air, the
same result follows. Hence it is evident that by altering the mechanical
texture of a soil without any chemical change in its component parts, it may
be made much more capable of supporting vegetation than it was before. The
quantity of organic matter or humus which will sustain vegetable life is ex-
tremely small, when other circumstances are favourable. Hence, in the
improvement of barren soils, the most essential process is to alter the me-
chanical texture. In clays this is effected by repeated tillage, when the
situation allows the superfluous moisture to run off. This is the reason why
good clays are in all countries looked upon as the best soils, and sands as
comparatively inferior. A soil which contains but little argillaceous or cal-
careous earth in its composition was long considered as irreclaimably barren ;
but, when the alternative presents itself of starving, or making poor sands
productive, means are soon found to correct their barrenness.

“ As pure siliceous sand is too porous, the first thing is to add substances
which will readily fill up some of the pores. Fine clay diffused through water
does so most effectually; and 2 ts astonishing how small a portion of pure
alumina will consolidate a loose sand, and convert it into a good loam, the parts of
which, when moistened, will adhere and form a clod in drying. Whenever this is
the case, the soil can no longer be considered as barren; but it may not yet
be fertile, however its porosity may be corrected: for this purpose it requires
organic matter already so far decomposed as to be readily assimilated to the
substance of the plants. When vegetation is active, and the organs of plants
vigorous, there is every reason to suppose that water is decomposed by the
action of the leaves; but this does not take place in the infancy of the plant.
The roots must find some nourishment ready prepared and easily assimilated.
This has a strict analogy with animal life. The infant finds its earliest

Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society. 83

nourishment in its mother’s milk, or, by the admirable contrivance of nature,
in some similar substances. The body of a young chicken is formed from the
white of the egg in which it was enclosed; and the yolk is a provision for the
period which intervenes between its being hatched and the time when its little
bill is so hardened as to enable it to peck, and take up insects or small seeds.
The seed committed to the ground may be compared to an egg: the first
expansion of the embryo is entirely from the substance of the seed ; and, until
the seed-leaves are fully formed, it takes little or nothing from the soil, except
pure water. But after the real leaves expand, it requires more nourishment,
and if this is not found in the pores of the soil, or if the roots cannot penetrate
to it, the plant languishes and dies. It is of no use that plenty of rich manure
is somewhere in the soil, if it be not accessible, or if it be not in a proper state
to be absorbed by the tender fibres of the roots. The plant will die, as an
animal would by the side of a chest full of provisions, which are locked up, or
unfit for his organs of digestion. These principles lead naturally to the best
practice in improving or cultivating the soil ; and we shall find that the mode
pursued by the Flemings admirably accords with the theory.

“The trenching and mixing prepare the soil for receiving the additions of
organic matter. The roots are fed with a liquid manure readily taken up,
and greatly invigorating, until a sufficient portion of humus is formed, which
gives the most gradual and regular supply of nourishment. At the same time
solid particles are deposited, which fill some of the pores, and begin that
accumulation of humus which in time will convert the whole into a rich and
fertile soil.

“It must be observed, that the smaller the particles of sand the better the
soil will be after being improved. Coarse sand, each particle of which is a
visible crystal, allows the humus to be readily washed out. It must be mixed
with clay or marl to fill up some of its pores ; and if this is not already done
by nature it must be done by art, or all the labour bestowed on the cultivation,
and all the manure expended, will never be repaid by the produce. It is,
therefore, of the greatest consequence to all improvers of barren lands, to
know, not only what proportion of siliceous and argillaceous earths there is in
the soil, but also what is the actual size of the particles. This is very easily
ascertained by means of the simple instrument, consisting of metallic sieves,
which is. described in the essay on the Analysis of Soils [Jowrn. Eng. Agr.
Soc., vol. i. p. 46.]. When a considerable proportion of the dry pulverised
earth passes through the finest sieve, it is a sure sign that the soil, if not
already fertile, can be easily made so. That which is most readily improved
consists of a small portion of coarse sand, mixed with a larger portion of finer,
and with a considerable portion of impalpable earth, partly siliceous and
partly argillaceous and calcareous, so that when it is moistened it does not
form a tough paste, but dries into clods easily pulverised between the fingers.
The degree of fertility will depend altogether on the quantity of humus which
is incorporated with this loam, and which the specific gravity readily dis-
covers, the richer soils being the lightest, for humus is much lighter than
any of the simple earths.

“ Keeping this in view, it is easy to show the advantage or disadvantage of
different modes of proceeding, which should vary with the nature of the
original soil. In the natural earth which has never been cultivated, or which
is dug up from a considerable depth below the surface, portions of different
kinds of earth are found in thin layers, or in separate pieces, which, being pul-
verised and mixed together, want nothing but the addition of humus to make
them a fertile soil. Here the use of the trenching-spade is evident. No other
instrument could so well divide the earths and mix them in due proportions.
The more the ground is stirred the better it becomes; and, by a course of
cultivation which, instead of exhausting the humus, gradually increases its
quantity, it becomes at last a rich mould, like that of a garden in which all
plants suited to the climate thrive luxuriantly. In the progress to this state
of fertility the soil must have passed through every mtermediate state ; and the

84 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc.

same process, which at any one period effected the improvement, must be:
judicious if applied to any soil similar in its nature. In agriculture, as well as
in most arts and sciences, to stand still is the prelude to going back. The
soil, under the hands of a skilful agriculturist, must not only be made to
produce all that it is capable of producing, but its capacity for production
must be continually increasing, until it arrives at that state when a further
increase of humus would loosen its texture too much to produce many of the
most valuable plants, which are the chief objects of cultivation ; for, beyond
a certain proportion, the increase of humus does not always increase the
produce.

“ These preliminary observations appear necessary, to enable those who may
not have paid much attention to the theory of vegetation, to trace their ac-
cordance with the practice which experience and observation alone have
suggested and confirmed. They may also be useful in suggesting to those
who would imitate any particular system of husbandry the modifications
which are necessary, where the soil, climate, and other circumstances are
different.

“ The advantages of stirring the soil to a considerable depth by trenching
and deep ploughing, which only now begin to be generally appreciated in
England, and the intimate union of the manure with every portion of the soil,
have long been practically acknowledged by the farmers in the Netherlands.”

. 54.)

e Mr. Babington shows that the Flax-Dodder (Czscuta epilinum) is common in
flax fields in Shropshire, in Wales, in the West of Ireland, in Argyleshire, in
Somersetshire, and in Dumfriesshire. In Somersetshire this weed is known
by the name of the Mulberry, derived probably from the form and ap-
pearance of its bunches of pale pinkish flowers; in the West of Ireland it is
denominated the Parasite plant. It was introduced into Ireland in 1836, by
some Odessa flaxseed ; but it is never found in American or Riga seed. “ It
is therefore manifest, the almost certain way of avoiding this troublesome weed
is by obtaining American or Riga seed, and not purchasing Odessa seed.”

The Advantage of mixing Soils is shown in a prize essay by Mr. Linton ;
by whom a barren sand was rendered fit for producing good crops, by spreading '
150 yards of clay on each acre, the expense of which was under 6/. The land
is never so productive the first two years, er until the clay has got well pul-
verised and mixed with the sand, as it is afterwards ; and will not grow a good
crop or a fine sample of barley till five or six years after the clay is laid on.
Mr. Linton therefore sowed oats, and succeeded perfectly.

A paper on the Reduction of Horse Labour shows a saving by two-horse
ploughs of one-fourth, and by single-horse carts of one fifth.

The remaining papers we must leave till another opportunity. As almost
every gentleman of landed property in England is a subscriber to the Journal
of the Agricultural Society, we hope they will lend it to their gardeners as
well as to their bailiffs ; for assuredly it is calculated to be of great benefit to
both, provided they belong to the reading class of these professions. To those
who do not belong to this class, the Journal, like every other work which
treats of principles as well as practice, will in a great measure be a sealed book.

Art. II, Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany,
Rural Architecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of
those considered the more interesting.

Icones Plantarum Rariorum, §c. By Link, Klotzsch, and Otto. Part IL.

We have in our preceding Volume, p. 556., noticed the first part of this
elegant work ; that now before us contains descriptions and figures of 1. Paya
Altensteini ; 2. Lobélia discolor; 3. Olinia capénsis ; 4. O’xalis Ottonis ;
5. Micréstylis histionantha ; and 6. Oncidium carthaginénse Swartz. The

Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c. 85

plates are scientifically and beautifully drawn and coloured, and each is ac-
companied by numerous dissertations.

Déscription @une Nouvelle Espéce de Figuier (Ficus Saussuredna). Par Aug.
Pyr. de Candolle.

This new species of Ficus was obtained by M. de Saussure, from Cels of
Monte Rouge, under the name of Galactodéndron nova species. It flowered
in Noy. 1839, and, having been examined by M. de Candolle the younger, was
found to be a Ficus, and named after the gentleman with whom it flowered.
It is nearly allied to Ficus coriacea, a native of the East Indies, introduced
to Britain in the year 1772, and figured in Hooker’s Exotic Flora.

Huitiéme Notice sur les Plantes Rares cultivées dans le Jardin de Généve. Par
M. Aug. Pyr. et Alphonse de Candolle, Professeurs a ? Académie, et Direc-
teurs du Jardin.

The plants enumerated are all in British gardens ; and Acrétriche depréssa
R. Br., Maxillaria Déppei Lindl., and Epidéndron Candéllez, are figured in
this notice.

A Catalogue of the Plants growing in Bombay and its Vicinity ; spontaneous, cul-
vated, or introduced, as far as they have been ascertained. By John Graham.
Published under the auspices, and for the use of the Agri-Horticultural
Society of Western India. 8vo, pp. 254. Bombay, 1839.

This Catalogue was presented to the Agri-Horticultural Society of Western
India, by John Graham, Esq. ; it is not complete, but it will be continued
by Mr. Nimmo, the friend of Mr. Graham. ‘The arrangement is that of De
Candolle, and it includes 169 orders, commencing with Ranunculacez and
ending with F’ingi. As a tribute to the memory of Mr, Graham, we copy
the following notice.

“Mr. Graham, a native of Dumfriesshire, arrived in India in 1828, under
the patronage of the late Sir John Malcolm, who was at that time Governor
ofthis Presidency. He was honoured with the friendship and esteem of that
great and good man, and lived in his family until he was nominated by him to
the appointment of Deputy Postmaster-General, which he held up to the
period of his death. He possessed a combination of qualities which pecu-
liarly fitted him for the duties of his office. The natural kindness of his dis-
position led him to be courteous and obliging to every one who had business
to transact with him, and to be ever ready and willing to investigate every
complaint, and. to rectify any errors that might have been committed by his
subordinates ; while, at the same time, no unreasonable applications or ground-
less complaint disturbed the equanimity of his temper: nor did he. serve the
government with less zeal and diligence than he served the public.

“ The performance of his arduous duties left him little leisure for the prose-
cution of his favourite pursuit: but the few and brief opportunities which
were afforded him were eagerly laid hold of and improved; and it should be
added, that one of the objects he was desirous to effect, while superintendant
of the Society’s garden, shortly after its establishment, was, to store it with
an extensive assortment of rare wild, as well as useful, Indian plants, chiefly
collected by himself.

“ His private virtues will be long held in affectionate remembrance by his sor-
rowing friends. There were a gentleness and modesty of manner, a simplicity
and ingenuousness of disposition, an humble-mindedness, and a total freedom
from guile and self-seeking, which engaged the attachment and esteem of every
one to whom he was known. His whole character and conduct were habi-
tually regulated by a deep sense of his own moral imperfection, and by an
humble endeavour to act in all things in conformity with the Divine Will.

“ Mr. Graham expired at Khandalla, the favourite scene of his botanical
researches, on the 28th of May, 1839, at the age of 34, after only a few days’
illness. The intelligence of his death was received at every station within

86 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc.

this Presidency with an almost universal feeling of sorrow and regret, and
his friends have testified their admiration of his character, and their sorrow
for his death, by the erection of a handsome monument over his graye.”

. Iv.

Or ‘ne European gardener and botanist this catalogue is interesting, as
describing the appearance of many of our stove exotics when growing in their
native habitats, and likewise as showing what European or American plants
are also indigenous to India, or have been introduced there.

Clématis grata grows in hedges and thickets, and the feathery tails of its
carpels give the hedges of India very much the same appearance as the
travellers’ joy does those of the chalky districts in the neighbourhood of
London. The rocket larkspur is naturalised in Deccan gardens, where it is
planted below orange and peach trees to keep down weeds. aphanus
caudatus, the Java radish, has long tapering pods like whip thongs, and is
much cultivated in gardens. Mignonette is introduced, and a universal
favourite. Cratee‘va Roxbirgiz is a middle-sized tree, planted about temples
and Mussulman tombs; and also near the abodes of the dead in the Society
Islands. amarix ericdides furnishes brooms, as heath does in Europe.
Hibiscus Rosa sinénsis, the “shoe flower,” is held in great esteem, and several
varieties are in cultivation. Datura alba, the thorn-apple, is common among
rubbish about villages all over the country ; it possesses very strong narcotic
properties, and has on several occasions been fatally used by Bombay thieves,
who administer it to deprive their victims of the power of resistance. The
Chinese use D. ferox for the same nefarious purposes. Rosa indica is common
in every garden, and in flower all the year fas it might be on English conser-
vatory walls]: it forms a pretty good edging for garden walks, when neatly
kept. The common sweetbriar is a delicate plant in Indian gardens. Canna
indica is found in gardens every where, and is in flower the greater part of the
year. Its leaves are used to thatch houses with in Cayenne. Cupréssus
glaiica, the common Indian cypress, or cedar of Goa, is found in gardens in
Bombay and the Deccan. There are some fine specimens in the peshwa’s old
garden at Phoolshaher; and also a little lower down the river, at Corygaum,
surrounding an obelisk raised to commemorate the battle fought there on the
Ist January, 1818. Col. Sykes observes that “the Deccan produces none of
the coniferous family, except Cupréssus; but it should be added, that it is
only found in gardens, or planted by the hand of man.”

These notes, which are taken at random in turning over the leaves, show
the kind of information which the book contains for the general reader.

Catalogue of Plants belonging to the Natural Order Conifere, cultivated for Sale
by Lucombe, Pince, and Co., Hxeter Nursery. Single sheet.

This is the fullest catalogue of Coniferee which has yet been published :
the number of pines being 63, of Abies 16, Picea 11, Larix 6, Cédrus 2,
Araucaria 4, Cunninghamia 1, Démmara 2, Thuja 6, Callitris 3, Cupréssus 8,
Taxodium 2, and Juniperus 27; in all, 151 species and varieties.

Our readers are probably aware that our talented correspondent Mr. Glen-
dinning has lately joined the firm of Lucombe, Pince, and Co. In noticing
this circumstance in a paragraph at the end of the catalogue, Messrs. Lucombe
and Co, express their readiness to lend their assistance in the arrangement of
arboretums and pinetums, and to aid in establishing scientific classification
and correct nomenclature; without which, as they justly observe, assemblages
of trees and shrubs lose great part of their value. An original and most
valuable feature in the practice of Messrs. Lucombe and Co., and which we
could wish to see adopted by all nurserymen, is, that of keeping by them a
stock of labels, formed of cast iron and lead, for sending out with collections.
The names are stamped on a plate of Jead, and the indentations are filled in
with white paint ou a black ground. A disc on the shank of the label at
once prevents it from being pushed too far into the ground, and from leaning
either to the one side or the other. The stamping of the names on these

General Notices. 87

labels might form an occupation for workmen in weather when they could not
work out of doors, for persons in workhouses perhaps, and for women and
children. We intended to have given a figure of Mr. Glendinning’s label, but
must defer this till our next Number.

Hints for an Essay on Anemology and Ombrology, founded partly on admitted
Principles, and partly on Observations and Discoveries, recently made, on the
Influence of the Planet Jupiter and its Satellites on our Atmosphere ; with a
Weather Almanack for 1841. By Peter Leigh, Esq., A.M., Author of
“The Music of the Eye.” 12mo, pp. 58. London, 1841. 1s.

This pamphlet, like the Music of the Eye, is curious and original, and may
interest such of our readers as study the weather scientifically. The following
quotations are practical : —

“ Perhaps summer in England, or the greatest influence of the sun, begins
about three days after that full moon nearest the time when the period of day-
light begins to be sixteen hours long : this is near the end of May or beginning
of June; perhaps it ends about three days before that full moon nearest
which the period of daylight is about twelve hours long, or the middle of
September. Not that it is to be inferred that the sun has not a great deal of
power very often after this; which is, perhaps, sometimes increased by the
retentive power of clouds, or even their reflection and refraction, or magnify-
ing power.

“* Perhaps winter, or the least influence of the sun, begins about three days
after that new moon nearest the time when the period of daylight begins to be
only eight hours long, or the middle of December ; and ends about three
days before that new moon nearest the time when the period of daylight is
twelve hours long, or about the third week of March. This, of course, as
well as the period of summer, will vary in different climates, and in the locali-
ties of hills, and with the materials of which those hills are composed. It
may also here be worth observing, that Kirwan says that July is the warmest
month in places above 48° north latitude, and August in places below that
latitude.”” (p. 10.)

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

Art. I. General Notices:

KoPes from metallic Wire were manufactured in Germany so early as 1827,
and they are now manufactured in Dundee. Though their chief use is for the
navy and for railroads, yet there are various garden purposes to which they
might be applied. For example: for supporting netting over a cherry garden ;
for supporting canvass or mats over a flued border; for serving as guy ropes to
newly transplanted large trees, such as the spruces, nearly 100 ft. high, trans-
planted at Elvaston Castle, &c. A series of these ropes laid across a river, and
fixed firmly at their extremities, would form the foundation of a cheap and
durable bridge. Many other uses will occur to the gardener, the forester, and
the agriculturist.

Indian Rubber Pavement. — Among the marvels of the times, a patent has
actually been taken out for paving the streets of London with India rubber ;
and many scientific persons are sanguine as to its success. There is to be a
substratum of wood, on which is to be put a facing of caoutchouc mixed with
iron filings and sawdust, to a depth of several inches. This, it is calculated,
will resist the ill influence of all weathers, and make the most delightful and
durable pavement. (Morn. Chron., Jan. 6.)

Garden Culture of Exotics. — There can be no doubt that the proportions
of the different constituents of the ashes of plants have the greatest influence
upon the vigour and productiveness of the plant itself; and I have no hesita-

G 4

88 | General Notices.

_ tion in saying that the culture of plants (more especially the garden culture
of exotics) will never be brought to anything like perfection till they have
~ each and all been submitted to chemical examination, the proportion of all
their saline constituents accurately determined, and the nature of the soil for
each chosen upon these grounds. (Madden in Quart. Journ. Agr., vol. x. p. 96.)

Sending Cuttings by Leiter. — | saw a notice some time ago, in your Maga-
zine, of a plan for sending small slips of plants to a distance by folding them
up in oiled paper. I had previously sent some cuttings of geraniums a journey
of 250 miles, by enclosing them in tinfoil, the edges of which were well
folded, even so as to prevent evaporation ; sacl on their arrival at their desti-
nation, they were as fresh, to all appearance, as when first taken from the
parent plant. The facilities of the new postage system may render such a
plan very frequently available. —W. Scurfield Grey. Stockton on Tees, Dec.
19. 1840.

The Maggot in Onions cannot be destroyed without destroying the crop at
the same time; but the perfect insect, which is a species of Masca not unlike
the house-fly, may be prevented from laying its eggs on the young plants, by
watering them twice or thrice a week, trom the middle of May to the begin-
ning of July, with any fetid liquid, such as stale soapsuds mixed with a little
stale tobacco water. The fly lays its eggs in the axils of the leaves, and the
caterpillar, when hatched, eats its way down to the centre of the bulb, where
it remains, feeding on its substance, till mature, and it then eats its way out
through the bottom or side of the bulb, and undergoes. in the soil its next
stage “of transformation, coming out a winged insect in six weeks or two
months afterwards. This information was given us by a very intelligent young
gardener from Lancashire, John Catton, at present working in Rollison’s
nurseries, Tooting. — Cond. Dec. 18. 1840.

That Amount of Instruction which is worthy the Title of Education consists
in such a direction given to the thoughts, by the nature of the lessons con-
veyed, as shall produce a permanent good influence on the mind and heart.
In this view, a person may be so far instructed as to read and write well,
without such direction having been given to the reading and writing as to
constitute education. When education has been grafted upon instruction, the
intellectual powers are cultivated, and the heart ameliorated. “ Instruction
operates on the mind, education on the heart ; and we know that sin is
engendered in the heart.” Instruction must prepare the way for education,
and becomes more and more competent as it advances. ‘ Education, though
not always successful, as no human method can be, is the most perfect in-
strument for restraining persons from vice and crime. Let those then who
object to instruction improve the methods in use, and supply education in its
stead ; a sound and really efficient education, which will reach the under-
standing as well as the memory, the heart as well as the hand and eye; and
which, while it teaches the people that they have duties to perform to their
Maker and their fellow-creatures, will furnish them also with that knowledge
which will enable them the more easily and the more efficiently to fulfil all
their duties to themselves and their families, namely, that of providing for their
temporal wants, of raising themselves above the temptations of poverty and
the degradation of dependence. (Morn. Chron., Dec. 26. 1840.)

Music, as a Branch of Popular Education. — Among the measures now in
progress for the education of the people, the importance of music, as a branch
of public instruction, has not been overlooked. A paper has just been printed
and circulated under the authority of the Committee of the Privy Council on
Education, announcing the establishment of a singing school in London for
schoolmasters, and containing an account of the manner in which it is to be
conducted. In this paper, ‘which is ably drawn up, the great and now
generally recognised benefits of music, as an agent in the religious, moral, and
social improvement of the people, are placed in a strong light :—

“In those countries where the education of the people has received the
greatest attention, instruction in singing has long been regarded as an im-

General Notices. 89

portant branch of school discipline. The sentiments appropriate to childhood
and youth find expression in the music taught in the elementary schools;
and lessons calculated to make a deep impression on the character of the
children, and to influence their future conduct, are linked with the most
pleasing associations in the songs sung in the schools of Germany and Swit-
zerland. ‘The religious duties of the school are rendered much more im-
pressive, where simple but solemn music forms a part of the exercises.

“In this country, of late years, the importance of teaching vocal music in
elementary schools has generally been acknowledged. It is now considered as
an essential part of infant education, and is steadily making its way into other
schools for the poor. The important and useful influence of vocal music on
the manners and habits of individuals, and on the character of communities,
few will be prepared to dispute. It is, however, satisfactory to know that the
degrading habits of intoxication, which at one time characterised the poorer
classes of Germany, are most remarkably diminished since the art of singing
has become almost as common in that country as the power of speech; a
humanising result attributable to the excellent elementary schools of many of
the states of Germany.”

Two difficulties have hitherto stood in the way of our national cultivation
of vocal music: first, the want of a method for teaching it in any schools, and
particularly in elementary schools ; and, secondly, the want of a machinery for
bringing any good method that might be introduced within the reach of the
masters of such schools. In order to surmount the first of these difficulties,
the Committee of the Privy Council on Education has charged Mr. John
Hullah, a gentleman of distinguished musical attainments, with the duty of
preparing for the use of elementary schools, and for publication under the
authority of the council, a course of instruction in vocal music, founded upon,
and embracing all the practical points in, the celebrated method of Wilhelm,
now in operation with such remarkable results in Paris. (Morn. Chron.,
Jan. 14. 1841.)

A good deal will be found in our Volumes for 1829 and 1830, written by
ourselves, and also by different correspondents, on the importance of music as
a branch of popular education; but certainly, sanguine as we were then
accused of being, we did not go so far as to anticipate the happiness which we
now experience, after the lapse of only ten years, at the speedy realisation of
our wishes. The progress which national education is now making im this
‘country is indeed most gratifying ; and, though it must necessarily be a
number of years before the system is carried to such a degree of perfection
as it is in Prussia, Bavaria, Wurtemburg, Baden, and Austria, yet who can
predict the progress it will have made before another ten years have passed
away ? The idea that there is one kind of education for the rich and another
- for the poor, will probably soon be considered as unreasonable as that there
should be one law for the rich and another for the poor. The young gardener
will thus see that however much he may now be before his older brethren,
when he comes to be an old man himself he will be hard pressed on by those
who are now growing up to compete with him; and he should therefore take
every opportunity which presents itself of storing his mind with ideas, or of
adopting some business where the labour required is more that of the hands
than of the head. — Cond.

Amusement of some kind is a necessity of all ages and all conditions. The
poorer a man is and the more he is a slave of toil, the more needful it is that
he should find diversion and refreshment of some kind for his weary spirit,
and the more important that he should find it in enjoyments which are not
sensual, and which, while they soothe his senses, refine them. The human
heart is naturally so unquiet, morose, and jealous a thing—so apt to make
self the centre of all its thoughts and sentiments, that the happiest man is he
-who can most frequently find the means of escaping from his own‘ narrow
personality, to fix his attention on something which is not himself. Interest
-him in the recital of some noble action, excite him by verses or songs which

90 Foreign Notices :— Russia.

give expression to lofty sentiments, or paint the beautiful features of natural
scenery, and you will see him rejoicing in his own emotions, mastered and
melted by the omnipotence of the arts. Music, the most seductive and
purest of them all, is calculated more than all to exercise a sway over the
popular heart, raising therein sensations alternately glowing and refined. The
historical monuments of antiquity universally attest the influence of this art as
a means of civilisation. Why, then, should we reject a means so powerful, at
a moment when the springs of morals are so weakened amongst us ? Govyern-
ments which seek to secure the affections of the masses will do well to attract
their confidence by procuring for them, as far as the power is in their hands,
work, education, and amusement. Let the industrious poor, when assailed
by the solicitations of the factious, be able to reply :—“ We, too, have our
share in the distribution of the social enjoyments ; that share is adapted to
our simple tastes, and proportioned to our scanty leisure. With it we are
content ; and, far from striking at a social condition of things in which we
hold an honourable place, we are ready to defend it against every species of
attack.” For myself, I feel satisfied that the administration has rightly ap-
prehended the wants of the people ; it has justly felt that the labourer must
have some diversion from his labour. His leisure hours it has sought to fill
up ina manner which should be agreeable while it was useful; and, in that
design, it has created this great and admirable system of scholastic institutions,
appropriated to different sexes and various ages, and of which the musical
one is, in my opinion, neither the least brilliant nor the least moral. I am
firmly persuaded that the singing schools are worthy of all favour, and fit
objects of the munificence of municipal councils. (Atheneum, April 11. 1840.)

Art. II. Foreign Notices.

RUSSIA.

CouRLAND, May 10. 1840.—I agree with you, that ere many years pass over
our heads, we shall have railroads over this country, and that they will be
joined to those of neighbouring countries, so that by and by we may sing,
bating the intervention of the herring-pond,

“To gang to London’s but a walk.”

. The improvements since I first knew the world are incredible. The salted
cucumbers I sent you grew in my own garden, and are produced by millions
in every garden, or rather in all the gardens in Russia. They are sown in beds
of good rich earth, the seeds about 5in. apart. The runners they make are
very short, and the cucumbers grow very thick upon them, requiring no care
in the cultivation, and only occasional waterings to keep the seeds from drying,
as we generally sow them in June, when our warm and dry weather com-
mences; it will not do to sow them earlier, on account of the frost, i. e. cold.
But as I prefer practice to theory, I send you a pound of cucumber seed [sent
to Mr. Charlwood for distribution]: you may try a few this season in a warm
sunny situation, making the seeds sprout before you put them in the ground,
to save time. Ours is a dreadful climate, for, though I am writing to you on
the 21st day of May Nn. s., not a single tree of any kind is in leaf, the goose-
berry bushes alone showing a few. To-day, the 22d, we have only 4° of
warmth by Réaumur, whence you may conclude what a horrid climate we have,
and one so truly uncertain. Last year I arrived the 11th (23d), and almost
all my tulips had done blowing, and this year they have not opened. I must
add that, in sowing the cucumbers, you must sow them in rows of 9 in. to
10 in. apart, which will leave ample room for runners,—J. B.C. May 10.
1840.

Courland.—This day, June 7. N. s., our apple trees are not in blossom, or
limes in leaf; in short I have never known so backward a season. I thought
that summer would never commence; in fact we have only had warm weather

Domestic Notices : — England. 91

these last four days. My gardener has made for me a new kind of bed
for growing the Russian cucumber. He makes a double frame of dung on
the plain ground, leaving a space between the two rows of dung 18 or 20 inches
wide, and about 18in. high. The dung is not meant to give heat. In the
trough thus formed by the walls of dung he puts fine rich earth, and sows his
cucumber seeds in two rows. He assures me I shall have a better crop than
in the usual beds, and in case of a rainy season no comparison. We shall see.
—J. B.C.

NORTH AMERICA.

Jussieua grandiflora. — Dr. Samuel A. Cartwright of Natchez, Mississippi
State, read a lecture before the Lyceum of that city, in 1839, on the health-
preserving property of the jussieua. It is found on the stagnant waters of Lower
Louisiana in great quantities, floating on the surface ; and where it appears the
water is more or less clear, in proportion to the greater or less quantity of the
plant. Dr. Cartwright thinks that the pores of the plant constitute the
alembic through which the impurities of the water pass off. The plant bears
a flower 3 or 4 feet above the surface of the water; the root is several feet
in length, lies horizontally in the water, about 2 in. below the surface; and,
with the leaves, forms such a dense covering to the water, as to constitute a
bridge sufficiently strong to enable snakes and the smaller animals to pass
over the pools in which it grows. Dr. Cartwright thinks that the growth of
this plant is conducive to the health of the region in which it abounds, by
purifying the water in which it grows ; for, though he visited the region to
which the plant is indigenous in the hottest season of the year, he found the
stagnant waters of the lakes and bayons, which were covered by the plant, as
pure to the sight and taste as if it had just fallen from the clouds. South of
the district where the plant grows, stagnant pools and bayons become very
impure, and he therefore infers that it consumes or feeds upon those substances
which, in other situations. corrupt and vitiate stagnant waters in warm climates.
In proof of his theory, he adduces another fact, viz. the salubrity of the
region in which the plant abounds, notwithstanding that it contains more
stagnant water and swamps than any other inhabited district of the same
extent in ‘the United States. The health of the people is even remarkable.
The growth of the plant is bounded by the 30th degree of north latitude,
and the soil and face of the country on both sides of it are similar, viz.
alluvial, and containing lakes, swamps, and stagnant water, and covered with
nearly the same vegetable productions. The country north is unhealthy, its
stagnant waters impure, and life of short duration, On the south side, the
atmosphere is wholesome, the water pure, and, as just said, the people
healthy. In the country on Bayon Lafourche, where the plant grows, a
great number of the original settlers were living, who migrated from Nova
Scotia before the American revolution. The negro population is very
numerous and remarkably long-lived, many living beyond the age of 100 years.
I had the pleasure to see Dr. Cartwright in this city two months since, when
he confirmed to me the fact of the health-préserving quality of the jussieua,
by the relation of two cases, the particulars of which I will procure and send
to you.—J, M. Philadelphia, Nov. 27. 1840,

Art. III. Domestic Notices.
ENGLAND.

CEREUS Northumberlandia and Cyperus longus. —I have enclosed you the
account of the cactus I mentioned to you. It was brought home by Mr,
Nightingale from Tobago, and bears a very large white flower. I should like
it named after His Grace the Duke of Northumberland. Would Céreus
Northumberlandia do? [According to the received rules, C. Northumber-
landedna would be preferable. See Lindley’s Introduction to Botany, 3d ed.,

92 _ Kietrospective Criticism.

p- 532.] Inamed to you that one of the scarcest plants ever found in this country
was found in one of my meadows at Boyton, viz. Cyperus longus. Mr. Peat
had not been but a very few hours with me at Boyton when he made the
discovery. Strange to say, I never noticed it till’then, although the meadow
is within 500 yards of the house, in a piece of three quarters of an acre,
divided from east to west by a small water ditch. On the south side of the
meadow there is not a root to be seen, but on the side which is sloping and
facing the south, behind which there is an artificial water course filled two or
three times a year for the watering of the meadows, it grows in great abundance.
The Cypérus longus grows in great abundance there. If you look into
Withering’s British Botany, p. 911., you will see how few habitats there are,
and those doubtful.— A. B. Lambert. Dec. 14. 1840.

The following are the dimensions of the cereus referred to by Mr. Lambert,
as given to that gentleman by His Grace the Duke of Northumberland :
height 22 ft., circumference at the bottom 3 ft. 3in., circumference in the
middle 2 ft., circumference at the top 1 ft. 4in.— NV. Syon, July 2. 1840.

Cnicus tuberdsus Witld. was discovered by Mr. Lambert in one of his woods,
growing plentifully in one spot only, to wit, in the wood called Great Ridge,
between Boyton Wood and South Hill, Wilts. (Withering’s Botany, p. 911.)
The Boyton habitat of Cyperus léngus is, we believe, now published for the
first time. — Cond.

Art. IV. Retrospective Criticism.

ErratumM.—Page 47., line 19. from the top, for “branches” read “bunches.”

Chatsworth Conservatory. — In the last Number of the Gardener's Magazine
(p. 41.), a correspondent, under the initials H. B., in speaking of the great
conservatory here, says, “ It seems very ill built, and of very inferior ma-
terials both wood and glass.” Now, this is not the fact, and the individual in
question cannot possibly be a practical man, for both the material and work-
manship are universally allowed to be of the very best description, and they
have not been equalled in any building of the kind, either large or small. No
expense has been spared in procuring the best materials and the best workmen
from every part of the country ; therefore H. B. has unwisely suffered himself
to remark on a subject which, it is evident to those conversant with the prin-
ciples of construction, he did not understand. — John Robertson. Chatsworth,
Jan. 13. 1841.

The Pleasure Grounds at Theobalds.— Iam pleased to see among your
“Notes on Country Seats and Gardens,” given in the Gard. Mag. for Nov.
1840, that of Theobalds, near Cheshunt. Several years since, I had some
thoughts of giving you a sketch of the above place for the Magazine ; but the
ornamental part of the grounds being only a narrow strip, I thought it would
scarcely have proved acceptable, and therefore declined it. I am led to
suppose that Mr. Scott, who was Mr. Wingfield’s gardener, must have left the
place at the time you were there, as otherwise I think he would have told you
who laid out the grounds. [We went over them with a gentleman who is the
present occupier, G. H. Heppel, Esq.] When Mr. Wingfield took Theobalds,
the whole of the place, including the house, was in a most dilapidated state,
and he then kindly employed me to lay out the gardens, and to make such
alterations as I thought necessary, in order to give the place as much variety
as its limited space would admit of, in the accomplishment of which no ex-
pense was spared in bringing it to the state in which you saw it. However,
m thus claiming the outline as it regards the walks, clumps, &c., and also the
selection of shrubs for planting, I must not detract from Mr. Wingfield
the degree of merit due to him afterwards in carrying out more fully his
plans for embellishment, in which he succeeded admirably ; especially as it
regards planting the irregular line of light trees and shrubs along the margin
of the walks in the front lawn, and planting, lopping, and pruning, both in
front and back of the house, im order to bring to view desirable objects,

Retrospective Criticism. 93

and to exclude others which were to him objectionable, in which he dis-
played very considerable taste, and with great effect. Mrs. Wingfield also,
m the floral department, exhibited great taste in the selection of appropriate
kinds of flowers for furnishing the clumps, and it was at her suggestion that
the arches of trelliswork were placed over the straight walk in the back lawn.
—T.Rutger. T1. Navy Row, Devonport, Nov. 19. 1840.

On the Natural Succession of Forest Trees in the United States—In Vol. V.
p- 421. is a short paper of mine on this subject, and Iam now enabled to
add another fact, in confirmation of those there stated, and from the best
authority. :

The Rev. Dr. Dwight, formerly President of Yale College, Connecticut,
says, that in Addison County, Vermont, the lands which have been once cul-
‘ tivated, and again permitted to lie waste for several years, yield a rich and
fine growth of hickory. Of this wood there is not a single tree in any
original forest within fifty miles of the spot. The native growth here is pine,
of which he did not see a single stem in a whole grove of hickory. Similar
specimens of an entire change in the forest vegetation are common in many,
perhaps in all parts of New England, where the land has been cultivated, and
again covered with wood. —J. Af. Philadelphia, Oct. 30.

American Button Wood, or Plane Tree (Plétanus occidentalis). —In the
Prize Essays and Transactions of the Highland Society of Scotland, vol. v. p. 322.,
the Rev. G. J. Hamilton states that a severe frost in June 1809 destroyed
most of the largest American planes in England, and particularly in the neigh-
bourhood of London, while the Asiatic kinds escaped without injury, a suffi-
cient proof of their comparative hardiness. Granting the fact, I wish to know
the reason of the same species of trees surviving the exposure to a cold for
many days below 0 of Fahrenheit’s scale, and for months below the freezing
point. I never heard of any button wood sustaining injury from even the cold
of Canada. The tree is one of the most thrifty, and its form of great beauty :
the twisting of its branches, noticed in the Arboretum Britannicum, vol. tii.
p- 2047., is by no means common, and only occurs in a few of the lower
limbs. The cabinetmakers prize the wood for bedstead posts and frames.
Your account of the Platanus is highly interesting, but I need not select
that tree for the remark, for it applies to the whole work, of which the article
forms a part. No book in the English language, on any art or science, affords
me so much pleasure in reading as the Arboretum. Long may you live to
enjoy the honour of your useful labour! —J. MZ. Philadelphia, Oct. 1840.

The Orange Groves of East Florida. (Vol. for 1840, p. 660.) — By some
strange inadvertence, Mr. Gordon, in the article referred to, has spoken of
these groves as if they were natural; an obvious mistake, which we take
blame to ourselves for not noticing in the same Number in which Mr. Gordon’s
article was published. Mr. Gordon has, no doubt, fallen into this mistake,
from the fact, well known to all botanical travellersin East Florida, of several
varieties of the orange being so common in some parts of that country, as to
sow themselves and appear like natives. We by no means wish to screen
ourselves, however, in this case or any other, from whatever blame may attach
to us, and therefore we gladly make this correction ; but, in order that Mr.
Gordon may have an opportunity of explainmg himself, we quote the passage
in which this error is referred to in the Gardener’s Chronicle, No. 3.

“ We have not a much better book than Loudon’s Gardener's Magazine :
yet the blunders in it, of which the worthy editor seems quite unconscious,
are astounding. In one of his last Numbers he allows a Mr. Alexander Gor-
don to assert that there are natural orange groves all over East Florida,
though every body knows that the orange is wild only in the temperate parts
of Eastern and Central Asia. This same gentleman even talks of the wild
or native orange having been used as a stock for the finer kinds of that fruit.”
(Crito in Gardener’s Chronicle, Jan. 16., p. 37.)

Quércus virens, Phéllos, and pubéscens, and U’lmus effusa. In the same
publication, and immediately following the passage just quoted, is the follow-

94: Retrospective Criticism.

ing. “ There is a Mr. Main, who publishes a list of British forest trees,
among which he includes Quércus virens and Phéllos, two American species,
of which the former is unknown as a forest tree, and never can become so,
on account of its tenderness, and the latter is hardly more common. The
same author, who writes specially on forest trees, tells us that our durmast
oak is Quércus pubéscens, a species only known in a wild state in the South
of Europe ; and he includes in his list of elms the Continental U’Imus effusa,
of which he cannot point out a single specimen in the country, unless in some
botanic garden.” (Zé:d.) From the manner in which this passage follows the
former, the reader would naturally suppose that the list of forest trees referred
to is in the Gardener’s Magazine, and that the error is one of “the astound-
ing blunders” unnoticed by the editor of that periodical. But this is not
the case. The list referred to is published at the end of The Forest Planter’s
and:Pruner’s Assistant, &c., by Mr. Main, published in 1839, and reviewed by us
in the Gardener’s Magazine for that year, p.467. Mr. Main’s work was
also reviewed in the Atheneum, and that review of it was noticed by Mr. Main
in an article in the Gardener’s Magazine for 1840, p. 517. — Cond.

Calling of the Queen Bee.— In a former communication on the queen
bee that leaves the hive with the first swarm (Vol. for 1839, p. 605.), I
noticed some remarks by Dr. Dunbar on my previous paper on the Calling
of the Queen Bee (Vol. for 1839, p. 150.) ; which, I find, has elicited some
observations from that gentleman in your Number for last March. He there
kindly offers to set me right where he considers that I am mistaken; and
points out some errors which had crept into my communication. I should
have noticed Dr. Dunbar’s last article earlier, but that I thought it desirable
to wait till the swarming season had passed, that I might acquire more expe-
rimental knowledge on the subject. The result is, that I find what I advanced
correct, namely, that after-swarming does not take place till more than one
queen has come forth ; of which the proof will appear as I proceed.

The first thing I have to notice is a statement by Dr. Dunbar, that I take
credit for the discovery of a fact which even Huber had overlooked, the
reason why there is no calling of the queen bees before the first swarm. Whe-
ther I can claim such credit or not, is not for me to determine. I will merely
repeat what I said on that curious point at p.605., Number for November
1839, and what Dr. Dunbar says upon it at p. 151., Number for March 1839,
and leave the reader to judge which account is more satisfactory. The follow-
ing were my words : —

“‘ T stated my inability to account for their silence before the first swarm,
except upon the supposition that the old queen went off with it eight or ten
minutes (minutes is an error in printing ; in the manuscript it read days) before
her successors left their cells. This having been ascertained to be the case,
the silence is so easily accounted for, that it appears strange that the inference
should have been overlooked by the most able apiarians, especially Huber,
who was well acquainted with the train of facts that led to it. It is clear that
the old queen is impelled by instinct to quit the hive with the first swarm, a
few days before the young queens are hatched; and consequently before any
rival appears in the field to dispute her sovereignty. This is not the case with
her successors : the first who is hatched, and from whom the stronger sound
of ‘ peep, peep, proceeds, makes her appearance before her rivals, who are
still in their cells, nevertheless sufficiently forced to utter the weaker call of
© off, off,” &c.

Dr. Dunbar says : — “ Were I asked how it happens that the piping is not
heard before the first swarm, I should be at a loss to give a satisfactory reason.
There are many facts in the natural history of the bee, as in that of other
animals, which we can attest the existence of, without being able to give the
ratio quare. This, perhaps, is one of them; and we are just cutting the
knot which we cannot untie, by saying that Nature has so willed it ; but of
the secret means she employs to induce the old queen to leave her abode,
without having recourse to the same violence towards her successors, as

Retrospective Criticism. 95

these last offer to theirs, even Huber acknowledges we must confess our
ignorance.”

I had spoken of Dr. Dunbar’s “ doubtful quotations from Huber.” But
he says, that, strictly speaking, he has made no quotations from Huber. But
some of his remarks, though not exactly quotations, are so evidently borrowed
from that writer, that they may fairly be considered as quotations ; for in-
stance, where Dr. Dunbar says that the young queens go quietly abroad in
search of males. This accords precisely with Huber’s assertion, that imprég-
nation takes place in the air, a thing extremely doubtful. Even that observa-
tion which Dr. Dunbar professedly takes from Huber, is not very clear;
namely, that “ as to the secret means nature employs to induce the old queen
to leave her abode without having recourse to the same violence towards her
successors as these last offer to theirs, even Huber acknowledges we must
confess our ignorance.” By this one might be led to think that the old queen
never does violently attack her rivals. But this is not always the case ; for
in one of my hives, this season, the old queen delayed coming forth, and the
same piping and rivalry commenced as in an after-swarm.

I may here observe that, when’ no swarm is meditated, the destruction of
young queens commences the same under the sway of a young queen as under
an old one. But Dr. Dunbar intimates (p. 151.) that the virgin queens have
not full sway, nor are permitted to kill their rivals, till they have been successful
in their adventures abroad in search of males. This appears strangely irre-
concilable with facts ; for it often happens that a swarm leaves the hive in
the afternoon, and before morning the young queens are cast out, and even
in a grub state. In such cases, the young queens must have been expert in-
deed to find drones, when it was past their usual time to be abroad.

I have next to notice an error in my article, upon which Dr. Dunbar re-
marks that he did not state that the ‘“ queen, hearing her rivals in their cells,
attacks them;” for he knew she would attack them whether they cried or
not : but that he does say that ‘“‘ she leaves the hive before any of her rivals
come forth ;” in opposition to my assertion that “ this is certainly not the
case, as there are frequently several queens in an after-swarm.” Though I
was wrong in stating what.Dr. Dunbar disavows, the subject in dispute is not
affected by my mistake ; for the queens certainly do hear their rivals in their
cells before they attack them. I know this, from the fact of my having this
season cut out a cell while the queen within it was calling. The cell was firmly
sealed, so that no attacks from the irritated queen could have caused the one
in the cell to cry “ off, off!” This convinced me that the piping of queens
commences before rivalry.

But I still maintain that no after-swarm comes off till more than one queen
is in the field. In proof, I may mention that this season I observed, just when
a second swarm was making its exit, two queens fighting at the entrance of the
hive, as if disputing which should quit. They both went back into the hive,
and the bees also reentered. Shortly after, the bees came out again, and
the two queens again appeared fighting as before. At last one mingled with
the swarm, and the other returned into the hive.

In another hive, when a swarm was coming forth, a young queen came out,
appeared very weak, and dropped on the ground. Shortly after a stronger
one appeared, and went off with the swarm. In both these cases, queens
had come forth before the swarming, and in the first there was rivalry also ;
which is in direct opposition to Dr. Dunbav’s assertion that the queen “ leaves
the hive before any of her rivals come forth.” What I have here remarked
from actual observation agrees with Huber’s statement, that a certain degree
of tumult commences as soon as the young queens are hatched, and begin to
traverse the hive.

The way in which Dr. Dunbar accounts for more than one queen being
sometimes found in an after-swarm, namely, that “ they take advantage of
the confusion caused by the mass of bees, including their guards, following
the departed queen, to escape from their cells, and mingle with the crowd

96 Queries and Answers.

rushing out,” appears to me a weak surmise, devoid of any real foundation.
For it happens very frequently that more queens than one are found in after-
swarms; and it is highly improbable that the newly hatched queens would
follow. one in the swarm who had been their persecutor, unless driven out
by another queen who remained supreme inthe hive. Whether queens go
off by seniority, as Dr. Dunbar supposes, I cannot say ; though | believe that
one is supreme when a swarm takes its departure, and that she drives out all
that are? hatched: and I think this accounts for the irregular manner of after-
swarms better than Dr. Dunbar’s theory.

It only remains to notice two more assertions of Dr. Dunbar: first, that
the old queen is not fiercely disposed towards her successors: and, secondly,
that swarming takes place in consequence of the queens going abroad in search
of males. On the first, I must refer to the observations already made in the
present letter ; and as to the second, though Dr. Dunbar says it is a notion
which he never before heard broached, it is nevertheless the belief of some.
Mr. Taylor mentions it in his Beekeeper’s Manual ; and it would follow much
more naturally from Dr. Dunbar’s system than from mine, for I have very
little faith in the asserted pursuit after drones. When Huber advanced it, he
probably acted like other scientific men, who are very apt to dignify their
speculations with the name of facts. It is not unlikely that Huber argued from
the analogy of moths and other insects, which however do not congregate in
nests like bees.

In conclusion, I leave these remarks to the judgment of your impartial
readers, hoping that as none of them were meant, so none may be taken, as
personal. My only object has been my own just and moderate defence; and
the elucidation of a subject highly curious and interesting, though very little
understood.— John Wighton. Cossey Hall Gardens, Sept. 23. 1840.

ArT. V. Queries and Answers.

To protect Forest Trees from the Ravages of Hares and Rabbits. —I should
esteem it a great favour, if you, or any of your readers, would inform me,
through the pages of your Magazine, of any method for protecting forest
trees from the ravages of hares and rabbits. I have a great number of young
trees under my charge. Last season I suffered very severely from these
animals, and this season they have again commenced their annual attack. I
have tried several things recommended by the correspondents of your Maga-
zine, but not one of them has had the desired effect. — James Kingston. Salt-
mgrsh, near Howden, Yorkshire.

‘Since this was in type, a gardener informs us that an ointment composed
of powdered aloes and hog’s lard, brushed over the stems of the trees, will
prove an effectual remedy. — Cond.

The Curl in the Leaves of Vines. — A Subscriber, Knightsbridge (Vol. VI.
2d series, p. 568.), cannot do better than paint his vines over with clay, add-
ing, if he chooses, a little soft soap and sulphur. The use of such an ope-
ration is, to destroy or prevent the hatching of the ova of insects. Where no
red spider, &c., have appeared during the previous season, there is not much
occasion for performing the operation at all ; but, as timely prevention is better
than a late cure, it is advisable to rub the stems and vines with something,
and I have found nothing better and cheaper than the above, which remains
a long time on the vines, and helps to keep the stems in a moist genial state.
— Robert Fish. Putieridge Bury, Jan. 11. 1841.

THE

GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,
MARCH, 1841.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Art. I. Observations on Liebig’s “ Organic Chemistry.”
By R. Lympurn.

Iw the treatise lately produced by Professor Liebig, at the
instance of the British Association, on Organic Chemistry
applied to Agriculture and Physiology; he states his opinion
that sound principles will not be obtained in the art of
cultivation, till physiologists, chemists, and practical men,
unite their efforts in a mutual endeavour to elicit information.
Impressed with the justness of these statements, I propose in the
present Essay to go through the different subjects treated of
in the work, and make what remarks thereon have occurred to
me in my practice. The truths brought forward by the learned
professor are profound, and deeply interesting ; the inferences
drawn therefrom are very startling, and, if true to their utmost
extent, must produce a great revolution in practice. The subject
is as yet full of difficulties.

It has been attempted, by analysing soils and manures
and the constituents of plants, and by submitting plants and
parts of plants to forced experiments, to arrive at some
definite conclusions. We cannot, however, fully rely on the
results produced by pieces of plants, or even whole plants, in
forced circumstances. The products of a plant torn up from
the soil in which it grew, and its leaves enclosed in the con-
fined air of a glass vessel, may be very different from what
would have been furnished in natural circumstances, could the
products have been properly collected. It is yet uncertain what
is the true action of the fibres of the roots on their food: they
seem to assist in decomposition, as well as absorption, but how
is not yet certain. ‘The circumstance of two pots of charcoal
equally watered and heated through the summer, the one con-
taining a growing plant suffering a greater decomposition of the
charceal than the other, as lately stated by Dr. Lindley, should
be decisive of this question: the roots may, however, partly
act by removing the atmosphere of carbonic acid formed around
the pieces of charcoal; and thus renewing the oxygen to hasten

1841.— III. 3d Ser. H

98 Observations on Liebig’s * Organic Chemistry.”

decomposition. The analysis of the minerals the debris of which
constitute the soil in which plants grow has produced various
results. Mica, the remains of which enter into most soils, is by
some mineralogists said to contain as high as 10 per cent of pot-
ash, a very important substance in soils; while others allow it
very little, if any at all. Teldspar, the most generally allowed
source of potash, is also exceedingly variable. The analysis of
organic substances, from their complicated nature, is much more
difficult. Very different statements have been given of the results
of experiments, from the circumstances under which they have
been conducted ; and in the analysis of manures we are still very
much at aloss. The analysis of the urine of the cow, by Brande,
in Sir H. Davy’s Agricultural Chemistry, gives 40 parts of urea,
its most essential constituent, in the 1000; while that of the
horse, (both herbivorous animals,) by Fourcroy and Vauquelin,
gives only 7. It becomes practical men, therefore, while they
receive the statements of such high authorities with the defe-
rence which is undoubtedly their due, to put them to the test of
reiterated experiment, in different soils, seasons, and situations ;
and fully to investigate every doubt, before receiving them as
principles in the art of cultivation; they may be truths, yet
other truths may prevent their being Rules.

The first part of the work before us is devoted to the exami-
nation of the matters which supply the nutriment of plants, and
the changes which they undergo in the living organism; the
second treats of the chemical processes after death, of fermen-
tation, putrefaction, and decay. The different parts of plants are
shown to consist principally of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
Woody fibre, starch, sugar, and mucilage, which form the prin-
cipal and most abundant proportions of all plants, contain the
oxygen and hydrogen in the proportions necessary to form water ;
the vegetable acids, as the carbonic, citric, tartaric, &c., contain
an excess of oxygen; and the vegetable oils, wax, resins, &c-,
contain an excess of hydrogen, though scme of them, as tannin,
&c., have acid characters. ‘The juices contain acids united to
the metallic oxides or alkalies, as carbonates of potash, soda, &c.
Nitrogen, or azote, is an element of albumen and gluten; it is
also, he says, a constituent of the acids, and of what he terms
the indifferent substances of plants, and organic bases. Esti-
mated by its proportional weight, he says, nitrogen forms only a
very small part of plants, but is never entirely absent from any
portion of them; even when it does not enter into the composition
of a particular organ, it is always to be found in the fluids which
pervade it. The essentials to vegetable life are, therefore, oxygen,
hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen. The food must consist of
substances yielding these: and, as water furnishes the first two,
the carbon and nitrogen, or substances yielding these, are the

Observations on Liebig’s Organic Chemistry.” 99

principal requisites; together with a soil to furnish the inorganic
matters, as alkalies or metallic oxides, which are likewise
essential.

On the subject of the Ass¢milation of Carbon, or the manner
in which carbon is added to plants, the views of this writer are
different from those of most preceding writers. At p. 19. he goes
so far as to say that the carbon of plants is derived exclusively
from the atmosphere; though this must be qualified by his sub-
sequent statements, when considering the action of humus, &c.,
where he allows of its being partly taken up by the roots. He
says, the idea of its being principally taken up by the roots is
chiefly maintained by vegetable physiologists: but the observa-
tions of Sir Humphry Davy, in his Agricultural Chemistry, would
lead us to believe he was of that opinion. More lately, Dr.
Madden, in his valuable papers on the Action of Manures, in-
serted last year in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, seems
also to imagine that it is principally by the roots. ‘The opinions
ef Dr. Lindley, and other celebrated physiologists, are not ex-
clusively for the absorption by the roots; they admit that it is
also imbibed by the leaves, but principally by the roots. Amongst
these conflicting opinions, it will be well for practical men to
have recourse to the work itself for a full account of Dr. Liebig’s
proofs, which no limited essay can furnish, and carefully weigh
them in their minds, and put them to the test of experiment.

He begins by stating the opinion prevailing at present, that
humin, or coal of humus, and humic acid, are the sources of car-
bon to the roots. The humic acid is sparingly soluble in alkalies,
or by itself, 1 part in 2,500; the humin insoluble. In the state of
humin or humus, the form, he says, in which it exists in the
soil, it does not yield the smallest nourishment to plants; and
adherence to the above incorrect opinion has been the source
‘ of much error. He quotes the opinion of Sprengel, who says that
vegetable physiologists agree in supposing humus to be absorbed
by roots, by the aid of water; while chemists have observed that
humic acid is only soluble in alkalies when newly precipitated,
and becomes insoluble when dried, or exposed to cold at freezing
temperature. He does not say whether it regains its solubility
by heat and moisture; I think it would. These facts, he says,
have not escaped the observation of physiologists; and they
have assumed that lime, and the alkalies found in the ashes of
vegetables, render the humic acid soluble, and fit it for the
process of assimilation. Taking this for granted, he states the
quantity of ashes and aikalies found in dry fir wood by M.
Berthier, and the quantity of dry fir wood stated to be produced
annually on a stated quantity of ground by Dr. Heyer; also the
estimates of Malagutti and Sprengel, of the quantities of humic
acid which combine with the alkalies. From all these data he

H 2

100 Observations on Liebig’s ** Organic Chemistry.”

calculates that only 61 lb. of humic acid would be taken up by
the alkalies ; which, at 58 per cent of carbon in humic acid, and
38 per cent of carbon in wood, is equal to 91 lb. of wood that
would be produced in 40,000 square feet, in place of 2,650 lb.,
Dr. Heyer’s quantity. As qualifications however of this proof,
it may be stated, that the analysis is of dry fir wood ; and, by his
own statement at page 108., the leaves and bark, and small
branches, contain the greatest part of the alkalies in trees. The
leaves of firs he states as containing 8 per cent of alkalies ; and,
if these are neglected in the analysis of the wood, as it appears
they have been, it would make a very material difference in the
estimate.

He also states that it has been taken for granted, in these
calculations, that the alkalies which served to introduce the
humic acid into the plants do not return to the soil, since it is
certain that alkalies remain fixed in the parts newly formed dur-
ing the period of growth. On this head it may be observed,
that, though alkalies are found forming part of the plant, and
therefore necessary to their existence, yet, as stated at page 104.,
they will certainly be rejected as excrements when not needed,
as all articles not necessary are. At page 102. he says, the ele-
ments of substances may be retained, and the rest returned ; and,
at page 156., from the decreasing quantity of ashes found by De
Saussure in the analysis of wheat, as it continued to ripen, it
appears evident they are so returned. All the alkalies and other
matters in excess will be so returned as excrement; and humate
of lime or carbonate of potash may be separated into their ele-
ments in the plant, the carbonic acid retained, and the lime and
potash returned, to be again neutralised and absorbed. He
next calculates the quantity of humic acid that would be taken
up by rain water, on 40,000 square feet; and, estimating the
water at 700,000 lb. of rain, from April to July inclusive, and
the humic acid being soluble only in 2,500 times its weight of
water, though the whole of the water should be taken up by the
plants on the soil, there would not be assimilated above 300 lb.
of carbon by this means. .

He next calculates the quantity of carbon produced from
_the growth of different plants in the same quantity of ground ;
which he estimates at 1,007 lb. of carbon for wood and meadow
land, 936 Ib. for beet root, and 1,020 lb. for corn: thus
showing that neither alkalies nor rain water can render solu-
ble a sufficient quantity of humic acid, to furnish the quantity
of carbon requisite. If, however, we allow that the neutral
salts are taken up by the roots; if the carbonates of potash,
soda, &c., formed in the manure and in the soil, are taken
up, the carbonic acid (which has, in some cases, the property
af uniting with the bases in two or three proportions,) extracted

Observations on Liebig’s ** Organic Chemistry.” 101

from them, and the bases of potash, &c., returned to the earth,
to be again neutralised and taken up, which does not seem at all
improbable; we may thus greatly augment the quantity of carbon
absorbed by the roots.

Besides, it does not appear how we should be solely con-
fined to the action of humic acid, for the production of carbon.
Dr. Thomson, who gave it the name of ulmic acid, having
extracted it from exudations of the elm, says that moss water
is composed of humic acid and water; and yet we have never
heard of any great results from moss water. ‘The same authority
states that the experiments of Mr. Cavendish proved that water
is capable of absorbing 107 volumes of carbonic acid gas, to
every 100 volumes of water, at the ordinary pressure of the air ;
and the capability is increased very much when further pressure
takes place. All water running in the earth contains it; it is the
carbonic acid which bubbles, and gives the brisk flavour to spring
water. I cannot, therefore, see what is the cause that would
prevent water saturated with this gas, as it will be in manure, and
containing it in large quantity as in rain water, from being ab-
sorbed directly by the spongioles of the root. Experiments have
been thought to be against this; but the same experiments would
be against the absorption by the leaves, as the leaves were
sprinkled with water containing carbonic acid, in those experi-
ments, as well as the roots. Dr. Liebig thinks the error was
owing to the unnatural circumstances in which the plants were
placed, which, I believe, is the truth. ‘The experiments of Sir
Humphry Davy and others show that the leaves of growing
plants purify air containing carbonic acid, and consequently
must have absorbed it. Other experiments, also, of the same
philosopher, show that, when the beak of a retort containing |
carbonic acid was introduced amongst the roots of growing grass
in the soil, there was an evident and great improvement in the
growth of that particular spot in a few days; proving that the
gas had been absorbed by the roots. Plants of mint, also, the
roots of which he had introduced into water containing charcoal,
erew very rapidly; and though no solid charcoal, the test for
which the experiment was instituted, was found in the vessels of
the plant, yet undoubtedly carbonic acid must have been the cause
of the growth being more than usual; the charcoal would give
out nothing but carbonic acid, and perhaps a little potash. I
have myself often tried the effect of charcoal from wood in
hyacinth glasses, and always found the plants more luxuriant
than those which got none. I think whoever will be at the trouble
of reading the appendix to Dr. Liebig’s work, on the experi-
ments extracted from Buchner’s Repertortum, showing the im-
mense effects produced by growing plants wholly in charcoal
with plenty of water, will not fail to be convinced, that the

H 3

102 Observations on Liebig’s ** Organic Chemistry.”

deep green of the leaves, and great vigour of the plants, must
have arisen from the absorption of carbonic acid by the roots,
without any help from humus or humic acid,

After producing the negative proofs which we have before stated,
of carbon not being derived from the earth by the roots, he pro-
ceeds next to state, as positive proofs of its being absorbed by
the leaves, that, though plants are continued to be grown on
soil, yet the quantity of carbon in the soil augments, in place of
diminishing. In forests, where the annual shedding of the
leaves causes an accumulation of organic matter, especially where
the trees are deciduous, not evergreen which do not shed their
leaves so frequently, this will be the case; in the case of scourg-
ing crops carried off the land, it must certainly be the reverse,
very often at least. It would be difficult to persuade any nursery-
man who has taken a heavy scourging crop of old transplanted
ash from his ground, or a farmer who has scourged his ground
by successive crops of oats, that the ground contains more car-
bon than when the plants were first put on it. The particular
salts necessary to their growth being removed, as he says after-
wards, may be partly the cause, but carbon must be removed
also, and must be replaced as well as alkalies, though the action
of the air will restore carbon sooner than alkalies.

He next states the quantity of oxygen gas consumed daily by
men and animals, and by the wood and coal employed as fuel; and
notices the fact, that nevertheless the proportion of oxygen in the
air never varies, as corroborative of the fact that the leaves give
out oxygen. The oxygen consumed by animals and burning fuel
is returned to the atmosphere in the form of carbonic acid, which,
he thinks, must all be absorbed by the leaves of plants, the car-
bon fixed in the plant, and the oxygen returned; and as part
only of the oxygen is returned, some of the oxygen being also
fixed in the plant, as proved by De Saussure, from the added
weight being more than the carbon consumed, the consumption
of carbonic acid by the leaves must be great. Carbonic acid gas,
however, is so much heavier than common air, its specific gravity
being 1°5277, that it has a constant tendency to descend ; so
much so, that, in the caves which contain this gas naturally, a
dog will be killed, when a man, from his superior height, may
enter with impunity; and thus every shower that falls washes it
into the earth, and diminishes the quantity, and so would lead us
to infer that plants will get more by the roots than the leaves:
the upper strata of air around tall trees should not contain so
much, when it varies so much between the height of a dog and
man. Lest it should be doubted that the quantity of carbonic
acid in the air would be sufficient to supply the leaves with
all the carbon, he estimates the quantity in the air from De Saus-
sure at zgpath part of its weight; aad, if the whole were abs-

_—

Observations on Liebig’s “ Organic Chemistry.” 103

tracted from the air every second of time, for & hours daily
for 200 days, he calculates that 10001b. of carbon would be
produced on 80,000 square feet. ‘This is only half the quantity
formerly estimated as produced by corn, &c., the quantity of
land being doubled; he adds, in a note, that -lime whitewash
has been calculated to absorb, on the surface of walls, nearly
three times the quantity. This takes it for granted, however,
that the absorption by the leaves is equai to the affinity of lime,
deprived of its carbonic acid, for that gas, which is one of the
most powerful; and that the air at every second is deprived of
the whole of its carbonic acid, and the plants surrounded with a
full volume of new air, with its full proportions.

He says, next, that the roots, and other parts of the plant, absorb
constantly water and carbonic acid, independent of solar light,
which is only needed to assimilate and fix the carbon; and this
admission should qualify the declaration of carbonic acid being ez-
clusively absorbed by the leaves. In the tropical climates, he says,
where vegetation is most active, the air does not contain near so
much carbonic acid as in temperate climates; the streams of air
which are moved from one climate to another serve to equalise the
whole, and the air is thus purified, and its proportion of oxygen,
the most essential to the life of animals, kept up. The experi-
ments of De Saussure, he says, have proved that the upper strata
of the air contain more earbonic acid than the lower. It was
stated to be the case, (De Saussure, Thomson’s Chemistry,) that
the air over the Lake of Geneva contained least carbonic acid,
that over the plains at Chamboisy more; in a confined court at
Geneva more was contained than on the plain ; and rather more in
the air of some mountainous places than in that of the plain. It is
not stated whether the air from the mountain was from a confined
situation or not, that over the sea would be least from the moist-
ure: but, from the specific gravity of the carbonic acid, it must
have a base to rest on, whether mountain or plain, and the upper
strata of the air cannot generally contain most.

He next says that no matter can be considered nutritious, or
necessary to the growth of plants, which possesses a composition
either similar to, or identical with, theirs; and that vegetable
physiologists have informed us that aqueous solutions of sugar,
starch, and gum are imbibed by the roots of plants, and carried
to all parts of their structure, but are not assimilated. Where
this admission was made it is not said, nor do I ever recollect
of seeing it. Sir H. Davy, p. 270. and 271., says that, having
used strong solutions of sugar, mucilage, tannin principle, and
jelly, he found the plants that imbibed them died; and he was.
once of opinion these substances were not fit for nutriment, until,
suspecting it was owing to the solution being too concentrated,

he tried the effects of these solutions, very much diluted, on
H 4

104 Observations on Liebig’s “* Organic Chemistry.”

plants of mint, which grew luxuriantly. He next watered dif-
ferent spots in a garden with the different solutions separately,
and a part with common water; the grass watered with solutions
of jelly, sugar, and mucilage grew most vigorously ; “and even
that watered with the solution of tannin principle, the least nu-
tritive of any, grew better than that watered with common water.
What is to become of the depositions of these substances laid
up as nourishment for the future embryo, in the cotyledons,
epicarp, mesocarp, and other coverings of the seeds, in the scales
and whole substance of bulbs, and around the buds in trees, if
these substances cannot be assimilated by plants? In fact, if
these doctrines are true to their utmost extent, practical men
would have to learn their business anew: and, if no substances
are nutritive for plants till their elements are decomposed out of
the plant, and the whole or greater part of the carbon derived
from the air; if nitrogen, water, and saline bases, with small
quantities of earths and metals, are all that is required from the
soil; then, indeed, have we been labouring in vain for so many
years, in depositing such quantities of organic remains in the
shape of manures. Before receiving these doctrines, however,
as principles in our art, we must test them for ourselves; and,
while we differ from such high authority with diffidence, we
must carefully weigh the reasons brought forward: and, as they
cannot be done justice to in an essay like the present, let every
one interested, and they are many, have recourse to the work for
themselves, and read it over and over again, comparing this
work and others on the same subject with their own experience,
and the benefits resulting must be more than we can at present
contemplate. Many things may occur to a man in his daily
practice, which, if known to philosophers, would modify their
doctrines very considerably.

He next proceeds to notice the erroneous opinions held by
some, that living beings can of themselves produce all the
elements required to form their constituents. That all the
elements are required, he proves from this fact, that dogs and
other animals will die, though fed on the most nutritive food,
unless it is varied; and says this is a proof that the expe-
riments of plants attempted to be grown by sprinkling with
water and carbonic acid were insufficient, as the nitrogen and
other elements necessary were not furnished. The Carrara
marble on which they were grown would absorb the carbonic
acid, and form supercarbonate of lime; and the sulphate of
barytes, and flowers of sulphur, on which also they were grown,
were insufficient, as the former from its specific gravity would ex-
clude moisture and air, and the latter would form sulphuric acid
with the oxygen of the air: such insufficient experiments are
valueless for the decision of any question, till all the requisites

Observations on Liebig’s * Organic Chemistry.” 105

of plants are known and furnished. ‘The Graminez and Equi-
setaceze require silicate of potash; the genus O’xalis, potash ;
the Salsodla and Salicérnia, common salt. Wheat and other
grains require phosphate of magnesia. The roots of Althze'a
contain more phosphate of lime than woody fibre. ‘These are
proofs, he says, that all these substances and many others, equally
as well as nitrogen and water, are necessary before the plant can
be placed in circumstances favourable to its growth.

On the Origin and Action of Humus. He defines humus to
be woody fibre in a state of decay ; and humic acid as a product of
the decomposition of humus by alkalies, which does not exist in
humus. He also states that woody fibre forms this substance, or
humus, by uniting with the oxgyen of the air by a process
similar to putrefaction, and for which he has invented the name
of Eremacausis, or tardy combustion ; a slow union of oxygen
to the woody fibre, which gives off carbonic acid till conver fer
into a brown coaly-looking substance cailed mould. He de-
scribes this humus as existing in soil permeable to the air,
surrounded with an atmosphere of its own, of the carbonic acid
formed by the absorption of oxygen; this atmosphere around it
prevents the further decay of the humus till removed, when a
fresh supply of air and oxgyen causes a renewal of carbonic
acid, ‘This carbonic acid, he says, is taken up by the fibres of
the root, and forms for a time the food of the young plant:
these fibres he describes as forming, at the same time, mouth,
lungs, and stomach to the plant. It has been customary to
compare the actions of plants and animals, and it may sometimes
help to convey the meaning of the author, but is inapplicable.
The food of animals is taken in by the mouth, digested by
the stomach, mixed with the bile, and the nutriment absorbed
by the lacteals and conveyed to the blood, which is aerated in
the lungs. Were we to liken the fibres to mouth, and the
leaves to stomach, where are the lungs, and the circulation re-
turning to be aerated ? If we say the leaves act both as stomach
and lungs, this is a twofold action of which we have no parallel in
the animal economy. Perhaps to assume the earth as stomach,
the fibres as mouth, and the leaves as lungs, might be nearest
the mark; but both order and action are different, and the
comparison is, perhaps, of little use. But to return to our
subject, the fibres, he says, perform all these offices, till ma-
turity; which he defines as the time when the organs are fit to
provide food for themselves from the atmosphere, by the leaves
absorbing carbonic acid and dew. Further on he says, a plant
gains another mouth and stomach with every new fibre of the
root, and every new leaf; and, therefore, we are left to con-
jecture for ourselves, what is the cause of the new fibres, formed
newly every year, ever losing their power of absorption; we

106 Observations on Liebig’s ‘ Organic Chemistry.”

should rather be of opinion that they never will. Were the
leaves the sole collectors of food at an advanced age of the
plant, whence does it arise that an old tree grows in so ex-
cessively vigorous a manner the first year after being cut over
by the ground, when there is nothing but roots to feed it. The
sugar and mucilage formed in the seeds, he also says, disappear
during the developement of the young shoots; and this I should
think soluble matter assimilated and rendered nutritive. This
action, he says, continues, and woody fibre is formed, leaves and
nourishment accumulate, till blossoms and fruit are produced by
the excess; this he considers as a more compound transform-
ation, and illustrates his meaning by the instance of the double
elective affinity produced by the action of hydrocyanic acid and
water. It is probable that some very complicated chemical
process is at work in the production of blossom and fruit: but
that excess of nourishment is not the cause is a fact well known
to most practical gardeners, who, when they want fruit, give less
food, not more; the more vigorous the growth of the tree they
know they wili be obliged to wait the longer for fruit, unless
they proceed to mutilate the roots or branches. If the plant be
in a pit, they stint by giving less water and less room; if in the
ground, they cut some of the main roots, or depress or ring the
branches.

The action of light and heat on the sap in leaves is re-
quired to produce in it a proper proportion of the elements
necessary to form flowers. If the sap is in great abundance, the
ordinary action of the leaves is not sufficient to produce this
proportion ; but when the proportion of leaves to sap is greater,
by lessening the quantity of sap, which has the same effect as the
extended stem and numerous arms and leaves of an old tree, to
which the soil cannot send a proportional quantity of food;
when, by age or art, the quantity of sap is properly proportioned
to the action of the leaves; that action is sufficient to produce
the proper proportion of the elements, and fruit is produced.
A warm summer in which there is much light and heat, or
rather the autumn, or a difference in climate, will produce the
same effect, and vice versa. Whether it is the action of this
concentrated sap on the organs that stimulates them to produce
flowers in place of leaves, or whether it is the presence of
proper food that enables the living power to form new organs,
the present state of our knowledge does not enable us to say;
analysis of the sap around flower-buds, and of the parts of
flowers themselves, might lead to some farther knowledge on
this point. It appears that the flower-bud, though formed, can be
changed, the pistils and stamens ‘into petals, and the whole made
to return again to the form of leaves, by enriching the soil and
furnishing a greater quantity of soluble food, as is the practice

Observations on Liebig’s ** Organic Chemistry.” 107

with the best growers of double stocks, who first impoverish
and then enrich the plant. It would thus appear, that the quality
of the food can transform the one organ into the other, and that
they are convertible, not different; the greater the quantity of
food, the lower in the scale of organisation is the product, as it
is necessarily more crude. Fruit trees never bear well when the
vigour of their growth is excessive.

He next continues to explain various actions that take place,
as the power of malt to form sugar from starch by the ferment-
ing principle; and contends thence, that the power to effect
transformations does not belong to the vital principle, but is
purely chemical. ‘The process, no doubt, takes place in another
form more complicated; but he thinks it still possible to be dis-
covered. He speaks afterwards of the vital principle balancing
the chemical, and the excess of food to animals causing the
chemical force to predominate, and produce disease: in a
similar manner will the excess of food in piants produce disease,
though disease may arise, as in animals, from other causes.
After death, in plants, the chemical force prevails, and dissolu-
tion takes place, though more slowly than in animals. He
complains that the term vital principle is applied to every action
we do not understand, as the terms specific and dynamic in
medicine; and that we should not be deterred from examining
into actions by these names. It will, perhaps, be long before
we can give any other name than that of a principle we cannot
vngleestanal to such actions as the transformation of leaf-bud
into flower-bud, or the formation of the leaf-bud, itself the rudi-
ments of a future branch. Will any chemical compound we
can produce generate these or any vegetable organ, with their
infinite modifications ? And, though we could “point out what
transformations are made, we might still be ignorant of the
power that produced them. While the blossoms are being
formed, he says, secretions are more abundant, and excretions,
also, af carbon and other matters.

He next considers the fact, that distilled water and carbon
will not make a plant thrive well, and that rain water is neces-
sary; the rain water containing a compound furnishing nitrogen,
one of the essentials of vegetable life, which, with “hydrogen,
forms ammonia.

On the Assimilation of Hydr ogen, the next division of the
subject, he says, when hydrogen is fixed in the wood, the oxygen
set free is the same, whether we consider it to be produced by the
decomposition of the carbonic acid or water, but he thinks it most
probably the latter. The oxygen of the water being set free is
assimilated as oxygen, the oxygen of the carbonic acd returned
to the air; which he estimates at the rate of 2,600 lbs. of oxygen
to be set free in the air-from each acre of acl (the weights and

108 Observations on Liebig’s ** Organic Chemistry.”

measures are all Hessian; the proportions are the same, what-
ever standard is taken). He says that the carbonic acid is in the
state of an oxide. Carbonic oxide is only absorbable by water
sparingly, estimated from ;'; to ;'5 of its volume. Solubility
in water is, perhaps, not required by the action of the leaves.
From the fact of plants generating caoutchouc, wax, fats, and
‘volatile oils, containing hydrogen in Jarge quantity and no
oxygen, we may be certain, he says, that plants decompose
water, because from no other body could the hydrogen be
obtained; and, though some parts of plants contain the oxygen
and hydrogen in the proportions of water, they cannot exist
in the plant in the state of water. He then gives an analysis of
various substances produced by plants, showing that most oxy-
gen is separated to the air when oils are formed, as less is
retained; and in acids the reverse. ‘These vital processes, he
says, differ from the chemical formation of salts, being the very
reverse; but carbonic acid, zinc, and water, when brought into
contact, act upon one another, and separate the hydrogen, per-
haps by electric action ; the zine acting so far like the plant.
‘The remainder, however, contains carbonic acid, zinc, and the
oxygen of the water, in a white pulverulent compound, but not
combined into the form of wood, nor with the oxygen and
carbon separated. The carbonic acid separated in the process
of decay is most from acid substances ; oily have not the same
tendency to putrefy, as they want oxygen. The numerous
springs which emit carbonic acid in the neighbourhood of
extinct volcanoes, he mentions as a great source of carbonic
acid. The Eifel, near Coblentz, has been calculated to yield
90,000 lb. daily to the atmosphere, corresponding to 64,800 lb.
of pure oxygen, when decomposed by plants.

On the next subject, the Orzgzn and Assimilation of Nitrogen,
this writer differs from all others, in the prominence he has
‘given to it. Former writers told us that nitrogen existed only
in small quantities, most of it in the higher order of plants;
and though its necessity was inferred from its presence, yet
little comparatively was said about it. Dr. Liebig, however,
says, we cannot suppose a plant would attain maturity, even in
the richest vegetable mould, without the presence of nitrogen ;
since we know that nitrogen exists in every part of the vegetable
structure: if it is not found in the solids themselves, it is to be
found in the fluids that surround them.

On the question, how this nitrogen is obtained, he con-
siders it from ammonia solely, which is a compound of hy-
drogen and nitrogen. We have not the slightest reason, he
says, for believing that the nitrogen of the atmosphere takes
part in the processes of assimilation of plants and animals ;
on the contrary, he says, many plants emit the nitrogen which

Observations on Liebig’s ** Organic Chemistry.” 109

they have absorbed, either in the gaseous form, or in solution
in water. The quantity of nitrogen in the atmosphere might
lead to the supposition that it might be absorbed and assi-
milated as such. ‘The fact of its being absorbable in water,
in small quantities only, is against this ; and likewise his
finding it in plants in the state of ammonia: unless we sup-
pose that the presence of free hydrogen in the plant, from
decomposed water, may enable ammonia to be formed by the
action of the living principle; though it can only be formed
chemically in a recent state, when the nitrogen is newly sepa-
rated. May not the salts of nitric acid, also, be another source
of nitrogen? The nitric acid requires considerable heat for
its formation; and its salts, nitrate of potash (saltpetre) and
nitrate of soda, are more plentifully formed in warm coun-
tries, as India and Peru, from which they form an article of
commerce. But saltpetre is largely formed in France, from beds
of animal remains in the open air; and, in certain circumstances,
where heat, and lime, and alkalies are present, may not ni-
trates of potash or soda be formed in our manure heaps? or
if nitrate of lime is formed, it is one of the most soluble of all
the salts of lime. The salts of nitric acid are now much used
as manures; and their only properties, which are said to be
great, must be the yielding of nitrogen.

The nitrogen of plants, in the form of ammonia, he thinks,
is got from the atmosphere; as, notwithstanding all the ni-
trogen that is carried off by plants, the new crop of plants
still continues to yield nitrogen, which it cannot derive from
the soil it exhausts; and the supply of ammonia is princi-
pally from the putrefaction of animal bodies emitting nitro-
gen into the air. It forms carbonate of ammonia with the
carbonic acid of the air, and is carried to the earth by rain
water, and to the leaves in the form of dew. The reason
why analysis has failed to detect ammonia in the air, he says, is
from the small quantity generally employed for analysis, as 10
cubic inches, which would yield only -000,000,048 of a grain;
but, if a pound of rain water is examined, it will be found to con-
tain as much of it as 20,800 cubic feet of air. A field of 40,000
square feet, he calculates, will thus receive annually 80 |b. of
ammonia, or 65 lb. of nitrogen; calculating 10 lb. of rain water
.to contain one fourth of a grain of ammonia, and the annual fall
at 2,500,000 1b. of rain. This is much more than would be
drawn off in the production of the albumen and gluten in wood,
hay, or beet root; but less than by the straw, roots, and grain of
corn, which sould therefore require a change of crop. Nature,
he says, produces sufficient nitrogen for wild plants ; it is culti-
vation, or abnormal production, which demands more. Experi-
ments made in the laboratory at Giessen, where he is professor,

110 Observations on Liebig’s Organic Chemistry.”

have put the presence of ammonia in rain water beyond all
doubt; as, when distilled in considerable quantity, sal ammoniac
was formed, on the addition of a little muriatic acid. The
presence of carbonate of ammonia in rain water shows the
benefit of preferring it in watering plants; the more recent the
better, as it is a very volatile salt. Water cannot easily be
saturated with ammonia. It will contain 468 times its volume
when saturated; water from manure will therefore contain a
great quantity: it should be washed into the soil to prevent
volatilisation. Ammonia may also be detected, he says, in
snow water; and the ammonia contained therein has the often-
sive smell of perspiration and animal excrements; a fact which
leaves no doubt of its origin. ‘The quantity of ammonia in a
given quantity of rain water will vary according to the quantity
of rain; but the quantity of ammonia furnished will not vary
much. Any one, he says, may easily test the presence of am-
monia in rain water by adding a little sulphuric or muriatic
acid to it, and evaporating nearly to dryness in a china basin:
the ammonia remains in combination with the acid, and may be
detected by the addition of a little powdered lime, which uniting
with the acid, the ammonia is separated, and given off with a
pungent smell. The ammonia removed from the atmosphere
by rain and other causes is replaced by the putrefaction of vege-
table substances containing gluten and albumen, and of animal
remains and excrements. In the solid excrements there is little,
in the urine most. ‘The ammonia, he says, is taken up by the
roots, which he seems to think the chief way of their getting
ammonia; though I cannot see how the same may not apply
to carbon; both ammonia and carbonate of ammonia being of
less specific gravity than carboni¢ acid, and more likely to exist
in the upper strata of the air.

Albumen, gluten, quinine, morphia, and cyanogen, with a
number of other compounds, are the principal substances in
plants, he says, which require nitrogen. The first is to be found
in seeds, around buds, &c.; the second is to be found in wheat
and other grains, the inner bark of hollies, &c.; the quinine
is obtained from Peruvian bark; the morphia from poppies,
lettuce, &c.; the cyanogen from daphnes and other plants
yielding prussic acid.

The fact of ammonia being contained in the juices of plants -
was first discovered by Dr. Wilbrand and himself, in 1834,
when investigating the quantity of sugar contained in different
varieties of maple growing on soils which were not manured.
On mixing the juice with lime, ammoniacal fumes were given
off, which they at first suspected to be from urine put in the
bottles collecting the juice, but were afterwards convinced by
the juice being taken from a wood several miles from any house. -

Observations on Liebiy’s “* Organic Chemistry.” iL

Every person, he says, who has entered a manufactory of beet-
root sugar, must be astonished at the great quantity of ammonia
volatilised with the steam, which is a source of loss of sugar;
the escape of ammonia causing the neutral juice to become acid,
and the acid changing part of the sugar into crystallisable
grape sugar and syrup. Distilled flowers and medicinal ex-
tracts Carita ammonia. The unripe fruit of the almond and
peach, tobacco leaves, the exudations of vines, beet root, unripe
blossoms and fruits, the juices of birch, maples, &c., all yield
ammonia. He gives an analysis of different kinds of wheat,
differing as far as from 1243 to 263 per cent in the gluten they
contain ; in winter wheat the gluten is only 3°33 per cent.

Animal manure, he says, increases the gluten, as well as the
quantity of grain. Wheat grown in a soil manured with cow-
dung, which contains little nitrogen, yielded only about 12 per cent
of gluten; while that grown in a soil manured with human urine
yielded as much as 35 per cent: he does not state the increase
of produce. Putrid urine, he says, is best, as the urea in the
urine is converted into carbonate of ammonia by the heat and
moisture of putrefaction. Guano, the dung of sea-fowls, used
as manure in Peru, producing great fertility, is composed of
urate, carbonate, &c., of ammonia. Manure acts only, he says,
by yielding ammonia. That urine is a powerful manure is, in
practice, well known; and that ammonia is very needful seems
undoubted; but that the ammonia only is useful cannot be said :
it is principally in the state of carbonate of ammonia, which
contains one atom each of carbonic acid, water, and ammonia.
The urine also contains salts of potash, soda, and lime, which
he afterwards considers as important; also mucus, and other
animal substances. The guano contains excrement, and, analysis
says, fatty matter. ‘The salts of nitric acid can give little except
the nitrogen and their bases, which may neutralise and absorb
carbon and organic matter. If these salts produced fertility in
sterile barren sands, then might we see more of the exclusive
benefits of nitrogen. Most soils contain much undecomposed
organic matter; it is rated very high in fertile soils by Sir H.
Davy. Ammonia uncombined has been thought poisonous to
plants, as fresh urine and hot dung have been found to kill many
plants: perhaps, as it seems to act principally as a stimulant, it
may be poisonous only when not diluted with water, which
prevents its being in excess, and is well known as a source of
safety.

All plants, he says, contain azotised substances, and no
animal can live without nitrogen or azote. Horses fed on po-
tatoes get weak, as potatoes “eommeaeen little nitrogen: rice also
contains little; and a much greater quantity of that food is
required than wheat. As animals assimilate nitrogen, their

112 Observations on Liebig’s “ Organic Chemistry.”

excrements cannot contain as much as they consume, and
hence no manure can return to the soil as much as is taken off;
it must be got from the atmosphere, from the ammonia emitted
by dead animals. The urine of carnivorous animals, he says,
will also contain more nitrogen than that of herbivorous; and
the urine is the principal source of ammonia. Yet we find the
urine of the cow to be a very powerful manure to vines; and
the juice of the vine contains a great deal of ammonia. The
benzoic acid, a principle in the urine of herbivorous animals, is
useful, he says, to some plants, as the sweet vernal grass, which
contains that acid.

It is much less the quantity of ammonia, he says, yielded
by excrements, than the form, which makes it produce fer-
tility. Carbonate of ammonia is very volatile, and the other
salts of ammonia not so much so; and this, he thinks, is the
cause of the influence of gypsum (sulphate of lime) on the
fertility of grasses. The sulphuric acid of the lime unites to
the ammonia, and forms sulphate of ammonia, a salt not so
volatile; and preserves the ammonia. The gypsum acts, he
says, on the carbonate of ammonia as long as a trace of it
exists: 100 lb. of burned sulphate of lime will fix all the am-
monia in 6,250 lb. of horses’ urine. ‘Taking Boussingault’s
estimate of ;4, part of nitrogen in grass, every 41b. of gyp-
sum would add 100 |b. to the produce. ‘This supposes the |
produce cannot be made without the nitrogen. In the analysis
of the wheats before noticed, it appears plants do not always
contain the same proportion of nitrogen to the bulk: the food
may be more valuable, but the quantity of nitrogen does not
_ seem to regulate the quantity of produce exactly. Former
writers thought the sulphate of lime beneficial to clovers,
because it formed a part of clover. Water, he says, is re-
quired in great quantity to dissolve the gypsum, in the propor-
tion of 400 parts to 1; and hence the less benefit from gypsum
on dry lands. ‘The decomposition of gypsum by carbonate of
ammonia proceeds gradually, and will last for years. Gypsum
might thus be of use in fixing the volatile carbonate of ammonia
in manures and urines. When spread on the ground, however,
what will hinder the carbonate of ammonia which has to ap-
proach it there, and which is equally soluble, from being taken up
as carbonate of ammonia by the roots, adding both carbon and
ammonia to the plant. Sulphate of lime is cheap. Chloride of
calcium, also, he says, fixes the ammonia. Being generally
manufactured from sal ammoniac, it may be high-priced ; if it
could be got in a cheap way from salt and lime, it would be
beneficial. Chloride of lime, Dr. Thomson says, decomposes
ammonia. Sulphate of ammonia has been extracted, in a com-
mercial way, from soot, to form sulphate of soda, by subliming

Observations on Liebie’s * Organic Chemistry.” 113
fo) oO

with common salt (chloride of sodium). Burnt clay containing
oxide of alumina, and ferruginous soils containing oxide of i irony
owe their fertility, he says, to all minerals containing alumina
and iron attracting the ammonia from the atmosphere. Oxide of
ivon emits ammonia in great abundance, and so does pipeclay
when moistened with potash. ‘The ammonia absorbed by the
clay or ferruginous oxide is again separated, he says, by every
shower of rain, and conveyed in solution to the soil. Powdered
burnt char coal, he says, possesses a similar property, and con-
denses ammonia within its pores. It absorbs 90 times its
volume of ammonia; decayed wood, or humus, 72 times its
volume.

The humus and charcoal I should think the best sub-
stances to absorb ammonia from the atmosphere. Burning of
soil is more often found to do harm than good; when it does
good, it is ascribed to its altering the mechanical structure
of the soil, and making a dense impervious cold clay soil more
open and warm. Ferruginous soils, so far from being fertile,
I have always heard rated as proverbially sterile. I have, in
my practice, seen soils of a very deep red colour with oxide
of iron, which, though heavily manured, did not yield a tenth

art of the crop of potatoes which was got alongside from soil
of a yellow brown loamy colour. ‘The manure was exhausted
amongst the oxide of iron; and the potatoes were not above the
size of peas. The iron appears to decompose the manures in-
troduced into the soil, from its great affinity for acids ; its prot-
oxide combines with most salts, and forms new compounds.
The sulphate, one of those compounds likely to be formed
when animal remains exist in the manure, is poisonous and
soluble. Carbonates of ammonia or potash, or humate of lime,
may thus be decomposed, the ammonia set free, and the car-
bonic acid lost in the form of carbonate of iron. Dr. Thomson
says that iron has a great affinity for acids in the state of prot-
oar ; and, when exposed to the air and oxygen after combin-

ng, is apt to form peroxides, and lose the acids. Whatever is
fe reason, the soils abounding in iron are proverbially barren
here.

He concludes this article by stating that carbonic acid,
water, and ammonia are the elements necessary for the support
of animals and vegetables. ‘The innumerable products of vitality
resume after their death the original form from which they
sprang; and their death, the dissolution of one generation, is
the source of life to another. ‘The conditions already con-
sidered, however, are not the only ones necessary, he says, for
the life of vegetables; and he next proceeds to examine the
inorganic constituents of plants.

Other substances than carbonic acid, water, and ammonia, he
1841.— ITI. 3d Ser. I

114 Observations on Liebig’s “ Organic Chemistry.”’
& & y

continues, are requisite for the formation of organs destined for
special functions peculiar to each family of plants; these are
found in the ashes of incineration, though in a changed state.
All substances in solution in a soil are "absorbed as a sponge
absorbs liquid, without selection he says, those that are wanted
retained, and the rest rejected as excrement. Phosphate of
magnesia is an invariable constituent of all the seeds of grasses,
is contained in the outer horny husk of grain, and introduced
into the bread and beer : it is contained in the greatest quantity
in bran, and forms often large crystalline concretions in the
coscum of millers’ horses; and, when ammonia is mixed with
beer, separates as a white precipitate. Most plants, perhaps all,
he continues, contain or ganic acids in combination with bases of
potash, soda, lime, magnesia, &c. These bases diminish 1

fruits, as the acids diminish in ripening; and the quantity is
greater in those organs which prepare the food, as in leaves,
compared with those where it is assimilated, as in the mass of
woody fibre. The potato contains more before blossoming than
after it. The fumaric and oxalic acids in liverwort, the roc-
cellic acid in the Roccélla tinctoria, the tartaric acid in vines, and
other peculiar acids formed in peculiar plants, show that they
are essential to them. All yield by incineration carbonic acid
united to a base, all therefore must contain, he says, salts of
organic acids; and, as we know the capacity of saturation of
acids to be unchanging, hence, on whatever soils plants grow
naturally, they must contain an invariable quantity of alkalies,
culture alone will cause deviation. ‘The absence of one alkali,
he says, is compensated for by another similar in its mode of
action; and he shows by analysis, by De Saussure and Berthier,
of the ashes of the pine tree from different soils, that, though the
quantities of potash, lime, and magnesia varied, yet the quan-
tities of oxygen contained in the amount of the three bases were
the same in each; if the magnesia or lime were less, it was made
up in the greater quantity of potash or soda. When there was
any variation in the quantities, it was found that the bases were in
combination with zxorganic acids, as the sulphuric, phosphoric,
&c. These remarkable approximations, he says, cannot be
accidental, and, if further analysis confirm them, must show
that the bases and acids are always proportional. It is not
known, he says, in what form silica, manganese, and oxide of
iron are contained in plants; but we are certain that potash,
soda, and magnesia can be extracted from all parts of their
structure in the form of organic acid salts; and lime, unless
when present as insoluble oxalate of lime, as in lichens, and
there supplying the place of woody fibre. Even double acid
salts, as the tartaric and oxalic (which acts like a double acid),
have only one base, and are never quadruple; the capacity of

Observations on Liebig’s “ Organic Chemistry.” 115

saturation of an acid is constant. As these acids and bases, and
even the form they present themselves in, are not subject to
change; it may be affirmed, he says, that they exercise an im-
portant influence in the developement of fruits and seeds, and
also in many other formations, of the nature of which we are yet
ignorant. If the acid is required for the organs, the alkaline
base must be present; it may be altered from soda to potash, as
in the Salsola Kali, grown from seeds of plants ripened at a
distance from the sea; or the alkali may be lime, but some base
must be present. Potatoes grown in cellars without earth
furnish a true alkali called solanin, of a very poisonous nature,
in the sprouts, which they never do in the fields. This ne-
cessity for an alkali, he thinks, shows that alkaline bases are
connected with the developement of plants. ‘The meconic acid
in poppies is united with the alkaloids narcotina, morphia,
codeia, &c.: the bases may vary, but the quantity does not;
when there is a deficiency in meconic acid, it is made up by the
sulphuric acid, the proportions being always the same.

If inorganic acids, be says, are thus substituted at times for or-
ganic, the substitution of the inorganic alkalies for the organic is
likely to take place in a much higher degree. When roots find
their more appropriate bases or alkalies in sufficient quantity, they
will take up less of another. When the soil in which a white
hyacinth is growing in flower is sprinkled with the juice of the
Phytolacca decandra, the blossom, he says, will assume in one
or two hours a red colour, which the influence of sunshine will
cause to become gradually white again after a few days; the
juice will either be excreted entire, or, if any of its elements are
nutritious to the plant, the remainder will be separated. Acetate
of lead, and nitrate of strontian, absorbed by plants in the ex-
periments of Macaire Prinsep, were returned again by the root
as excrement: thus, he says, soil where common salt abounds
will return it though absorbed ; it will also kill the plant if in
excess, and so would acetate of lead.

Firs and pines, he says, have but little alkali in their ashes.
Lime trees, rye, and potatoes have much more; and firs will
thrive in quantities on barren sandy soils, while wheat and lime
trees will not. The spruce fir, however, will not thrive on a dry
soil, however alkaline it may be; and the state of moisture of the
soil must, therefore, have its share as well as alkalies. All kinds
of grasses, and also Hquisetacez, contain a large quantity of
silex in the stalks and outer parts of the leaves, in the form of
silicic acid, or oxide of silicon (the form silex is generally found
in) and potash united, forming silicate of potash. This is mostly
returned to the cultivated grasses, in the form of rotted straw, in
the manure. In natural meadows, he says, where the hay is

taken off, we never find a luxuriant crop of grass on sandy
12

116 Observations on Liebig’s ** Organic Chemistry.”

calcareous soils, which contain little potash, evidently because
the potash is not renewed. Soils formed from basalt, grey-
wacke, and porphyry are therefore, he says, best for meadow
land, on account of the potash they contain, from the reduced
feldspar. ‘These soils, however, contain a good deal of alumina,
and will not part with their water and organic substances so
readily as the sandy soils. Some irrigated meadows in Germany,
he says, yield four times as much produce as others not ir-
rigated, and the fertility he attributes to the potash carried on
the meadows from the rivers which irrigate. ‘There may how-
ever be organic substances deposited as well as potash: humus
is light and flocculent, and, if the soils irrigated are sandy, they
may be helped by alumina deposited if the rivers pass through
clayey soils; part may be owing to these helps, as well as to the
potash. ‘The meadows irrigated from the common sewers, in
the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, yield more than four times an
ordinary produce; it is the excrement deposited that is supposed
the cause. ‘The quantity of potash, he says, in soils is inex-
haustible, when compared with the quantity removed. If the
crop of grass, however, is increased by the gypsum, there is
more potash taken off than by a small crop, and it would ex-
haust the alkalies more; but in Germany they restore the
fertility, he says, by sprinkling the field with wood ashes, or the
lixiviated ashes of soap-boilers: these last should contain some
oil in solution with the ashes. The sandy heath of Luneburg
yields a crop only once every thirty or forty years, by burning
the heath, which yields the potash, he says, collected by rain
water during that time. There should also be charcoal from
the wood of the heath, and from the wood ashes above, to
produce carbonic acid and ammonia; it, is, perhaps, necessary
to notice other benefits as well as the one under review. ‘Whe
most decisive proof, he says, of the want of potash, is that of a
man at Bingen, who manured highly with horn shavings, which
contain little or no potash, and starved his vines ultimately,
though drawing very heavy crops for a while; others who used
cow manure, though the crops were not so heavy at first, had
continued fruitfulness. A field also which was cropped with
wormwood, for the sake of collecting its ashes, was barren for a
long time afterwards; and woods where the young branches and
leaves were taken off got stinted in their growth, until they were
prohibited from being taken away, which restored their luxu-
riance. These all show fercibly the need of alkalies. I should
also ascribe part of the effect, in the first instance, to the vines
being allowed to overbear themselves, which in this country is
considered to exhaust the strength of the plant; there is a vital
power in animals and plants, which all the alkalies and nitrogen
in the world will not replace, if it is trenched on, though they

Observations on Liebig’s “ Organic Chemistry.” 117

may help to restore it; in the second and fourth, the effects
should be partly owing to the other elements of the cow manure
and leaves; and in the third, the wormwood might scourge in
other respect as well as potash.

Plants do not impoverish soil in the direct ratio of the
bulk they produce. Privet and leek, which are very scourg-
ing crops, do not produce near so much bulk as poplars and
potatoes, which scourge it less; they scourge more in the
ratio of the fibres of the root. Some plants seem not to
extract so much nourishment from their food, as we find some
animals will grow larger on much less food than others; and this
also varies with the circumstances, as heat producing activity in
the lacteals, leaves, &c.: it is the quantity of food which plants
assimilate, not what they absorb, that increases bulk; they will
have most excrement that assimilate least. Such things the
professor might not think worth noticing when advocating a
particular subject, such as this on alkalies; but, when placed
together, they help to prevent our going to excess with our in-
ferences from data. Sea plants will grow inland, he continues,
if near salt-works; and the urine and bones of men and animals
yield the phosphates of lime and magnesia necessary for the
grains they cultivate as grasses. Hence, these plants follow
human habitations, as some weeds which abound in ammonia are
found on dunghills. From these facts he infers that plants
will not succeed well, unless the phosphates, &c., needed are
present; and these will always produce more fertility than any
‘other manure. In this country, bones have been reckoned more
beneficial to turnips than to any other crop; and yet the analysis
of turnips by Dr. Madden gives no phosphates at all. Perhaps
the animal matters, as gelatine, &c., in the unboiled bone furnish
food to the turnip, and the phosphates to the next crop of wheat.
There must be some relation between the food and the analysis
of the plant, the doctrine of plants producing elements them-
selves I think untenable; but we have much yet to learn.

From the capability of volatilising borax; from the salt in salt-
works being found deposited on glass fixed above the works, in
their atmosphere; and from the air over the sea always con-
taining sufficient to render a solution of nitrate of silver turbid ;
he contends for the salts of plants being carried in the atmo-
sphere. ‘The carbonate of lime in the sea is only one part in
12,400, and yet supplies the myriads of mollusca and corals.
The iodine in fuci is collected from sea water, which contains
only one part in a million. Hence, the immense effects produced
from small quantities; and, though the alkalies are contained in
the air in small quantities, great effects may ultimately be pro-
duced. The sea water contains more carbonic acid than fresh

water, and also contains ammonia. ‘The sea being filled with
I 3

118 Observations on Liebig’s “ Organic Chemistry.”

plants, they collect alkalies, he says, as well as those of the land.
Plants inland collect the alkalies evaporated from the sea in
rain water, and from springs that permeate the earth. Were it
not for plants, he concludes, alkalies would gradually disappear,
though he does not state how; perhaps he means by again
forming the earths into stones, the metals do not part with their
oxygen readily.

On the next division, the Art of Culture, he resumes the con-
sideration of the use of humus; its insolubility, he says, pre-
vents its being carried off from ground, being soluble only when
combined with oxygen, and being taken up by water only as
carbonic acid. The humus in the soil unites to oxygen, and
gives off carbonic acid ; which, as before said, stops the further
decay of the humus, till the carbonic acid formed is taken off
by plants; when a fresh supply of oxygen resumes the action on
the humus. He next quotes various places which abound in ve-
getable remains, and calcareous earth; and, from the fact of no
humic acid, or humate of lime, being found in these places, infers
its absence in common vegetable mould; it is carbonic acid, not
humic, he says, that gives the food to plants. I think it is
most likely to be the way, at least for the greatest part. Dr.
Madden, on the same subject, says that, though a solution of
soil in water will not yield humic acid, yet it will yield it toa
solution of salts; and infers that it exists in small quantities, and
forms gradually humate of lime: the salts, however, in this ex-
periment, may have acted on the humus, and produced part at
least of the humic acid detected. The humus, Dr. Liebig says, if
in great quantity, will rob the ground of its oxygen; and he points
out some places where parts of meadows are burnt up, and
stinted in vegetation, from the great quantity of carbonic acid ;
so great at times as to be emitted with an explosion, when the
ground is bored into. Part of the cause of this ought perhaps
also to be ascribed to excess of food, which will kill many plants ;
but he inclines to refer it solely to the deprivation of oxygen; and
illustrates this position by the effects of stagnant water, which
having parted with its free oxygen, and being stagnant, and the
oxygen consequently not renewed from the air, plants languish
and die for want of oxygen when their roots are confined in it.
This, I believe, is fully borne out in practice. It has been cus-
tomary to say that alders, willows, and other plants, will thrive
in stagnant water; but I am informed by Mr. Aitken of Lanfine,
in this neighbourhood, Newmilns, that the plantations there,
which are toa vast extent on moorland, and much of it very
marshy, completely refute the common opinion, and show the
necessity of oxygen as well as moisture. ‘The alders, willows,
poplars, ash, &c., though they require moisture to their roots,
will not thrive where it is stagnant; and it is only near the little

Observations on Liebig’s “ Organic Chemistry.” 119

streamlets, where motion is kept up in the water, that they will
thrive. ‘The tendency of stagnant water to putrescence, and
consequently rotting of the roots, will also have its effects. ‘The
only plant, he says, that thrives well in their marshy ground, is
the spruce fir; it throws out its roots along the surface, where
they will be constantly exposed to the air and oxygen, and does
not dip the roots into the stagnant water in the soil, as the others
do; so much so, that they can be uprooted with very little
trouble.

When on the subject of these plantations, 1 may mention
the great effects produced from the warmth and shelter they af-
ford ; corroborating the statements on these subjects so forcibly
made of late in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, of the
great benefits of sheltering woods in cold bleak situations. Dr.
Brown of Lanfine, in an essay lately published on some fossil
trees found on his estates, gives it as his opinion, that the climate
must once have been many degrees warmer; the cause of the
cold he attributes to the removal of the woods once existing. A
great quantity of sensible (not latent) heat must have been
retained by the vast amount of confined air (which is the best
retainer of heat) generated in these woods; the electric conduc-
tors formed by the pointed trees would increase these effects ;
and the mass of heat thus stored up, to be given out slowly when
the air was colder than the wood, must have had a great effect
on the climate.

Water from barren peat soils, Dr. Liebig says, yields much
humic acid; and all agriculturists and gardeners agree, he adds,
that manure is not suitable for plants, till it loses the power of
giving colour to water. I have seen manure kept for years,
the drainings from which were as brown as ever. I never heard
the remark made, and imagine the manure would produce little
effect if so far decayed. I think, however, there is some
mistake about the benefits derived from humic acid; it abounds
in moss water, as before quoted from Dr. Thomson, and above
from Dr. Liebig; and, from a substance so plentiful, it is won-
derful we have not heard of its great effects, accidentally, from
practice: perhaps the antiseptic principle of tannin, also con-
tained in the moss water, may help to prevent the small quantity
1 part in 2,500 from taking effect ; if it were mixed with quick-
lime, humate of lime, said to be a more soluble substance,
might be formed. Dr. Liebig says the humate of lime is not
more soluble than humic acid. Whatever may be the fate of
the theory of humic acid, it is, I believe, almost wholly allowed
by gardeners, that manure yielding this brown-coloured water
is in the fittest condition for plants: they are constantly in the
practice of watering with the brown-coloured water, and of ex-
tolling its effects. In Holland they are said to wash the dung,

I 4

120 Observations on Liebig’s ** Organic Chemistry.”

and take the brown-coloured liquid in barrels to the field, in
preference to manure. Dr. Thomson says the humate of potash
is brown-coloured also and soluble, perhaps this may be formed
in the dung: but, from the aptitude of humic acid to be dis-
placed by other acids, I am afraid the carbonic acid may take
its place, as it will likely be most plentiful. It appears, also, to
be little more soluble than the acid itself (see quotation from
Sprengel, p.8.). I think it most probable that the benefits of
manure are more likely to arise from the neutral soluble salts of
carbonic acid, as ammonia, potash, soda, &c.; the other salts
of ammonia, phosphates, &c.; and the carbonic acid itself in
solution, likely saturation, in the water of the manure; as also
the other soluble vegetable and animal substances in the heap ;
than from the small quantity of humic acid found in the water,
zso0 part. Dr. Liebig had before stated (p. 25.) that these
soluble vegetable matters could not be assimilated though
absorbed; but he states in p. 124, 125. the great quantities of
starch deposited in pine trees, and sugar in maple trees, also
the starch deposited in potatoes; there are also large deposits
of mucilage and albumen. When he considers all these as
reduced into gum or mucilage next year, to be assimilated in
the young shoots, I cannot see, if the plant can assimilate
these, that it will not assimilate also the same substances in solu-
tion in the manure, and absorbed by the roots, as Sir Humphry
Davy’s experiments would lead us to believe. It appears the
statements in p. 25. are advanced as the opinions of others
more than his own.

He here gives us some elaborate dissertations on the way
in which these substances are assimilated, and points out the
necessity of nitrogen in forming the principle called diastase,
which greatly assists in reducing the starch to gum. The
nitrogen absorbed by the roots of plants, in the gluten and
albumen of the soluble substances, produces the nitrogen for
forming diastase; it is found surrounding all the organs, and ~
hence the great necessity of nitrogen to carry on the assimi-
lation of the food. Unless nitrogen be present, he says, the
food will not be assimilated ; and people who live on potatoes
have more granules of undecomposed starch in their excre-
ment. If there is a deficiency of nitrogen in animals, fat
is formed; if in plants, oils, resins, starch, &c.; or these or
the food are returned as excrement: the nitrogen itself, if in
excess, will also be returned as excrement. The gluten, albu-
men, and mucilage, he says, contain nitrogen; the sugar, starch,
oil, wax, and resins do not; and potatoes or beet have less
starch and -sugar when animal manures abound in the soil,
though the plants are larger. As mucilage is first formed in the
potato, which is afterwards ripened into starch, it is probable

Observations on Liebig’s * Organic Chemistry.” 121

part of the functions of the leaves, are to separate nitrogen in
the form of ammonia, and this may be part of the effect in pro-
portioning the elements of the sap so as to produce flower buds.
The professor’s reasonings on the subject of nitrogen are very
profound, and in advance, and should be well studied.

The action of light, he says, stimulates the power of the leaves
to assimilate, or prepare for assimilation, the food; and presup-
poses a power and capability in light, to which the most powerful
chemical combination cannot-be compared. The strongest gal-
vanic battery cannot separate the oxygen from the carbonic acid ;
and though chlorine, by its affinity for hydrogen, forming muriatic
acid, will separate the oxygen from water, under the influence of
light, yet it cannot be considered as at all equalling the power
and energy with which a leaf separated from a plant, and thus
in a mutilated state, decomposes the carbonic acid. De Candolle
says, the leaf loses the power of decomposing carbonic acid
when the plant dies; a separated leaf should be approaching
that state; cuttings and leaves will live some time after separa-
tion, but the living powers cannot be so active.

The direct rays of the sun, he says, are most powerful, but dif-
fused light has the same effect, though not so intense and rapid.
The presence of nitrogen is not needed in the decomposition of
carbonic acid. ‘The carbon is needed in the formation of the dif-
ferent substances containing carbon; hence it is evident, he says,
the quantity and quality of the substances generated by the vital
processes must vary according to the food that is supplied, and
the developement of the individual organs will proceed according
as the substances necessary for their developement are furnished.
The quality will also depend on the quantity, as the action of
heat and light in the leaves will separate the oxygen needed to
be removed from acid mucilaginous substances, in converting
them into sugar and starch, more easily from a small than a
large quantity ; if the quantity of sap is great, it will require
more action to prepare it. In this process heat seems greatly to
augment the action of light. When the leaves of celery are
shut out from light, the oxygen is preserved even though heat
is present ; and the bitter poisonous principle in which hydrogen
predominates, formerly generated when light was present to the
leaves by the deoxidation of the sap, is now converted into
sugar. In like manner, if the tubers of potatoes, which are
part of the stem, are exposed to the light, they secrete a bitter
poisonous principle, similar to that of the stems and leaves, by
the deoxidation. ‘Though heat alone will not cause the deoxi-
dation, yet we see it assists it greatly; as, in the instance of fruit
trees on walls, we find the separation of the oxygen, and ripen-
ing of the acid fruit, proceed with a great deal more vigour
than in standard trees, though fully exposed to the light. So

122 Observations on Liebiv’s ** Organic Chemistry.”
oS fo)

great is the effect, that in some fruits which do not possess much
juice, the process proceeds farther, and part is converted into
starch, forming a dry mealy fruit, which would have been sweeter
on a standard; and fruits abounding in juice are thus the most
suitable for walls and warm climates. Fruit will continue to
deoxidate after pulling, most in the light, but if heat is present
will continue also; and both heat and light should be kept from
ripe fruit; a cool dry air and little light will keep them best,
unless pulled before ripe. Insome fruits, as plums, grapes, &c.,
part of the skin is wholly deoxidated, and a waxy substance
abounding in hydrogen without oxygen is formed, called bloom,
which assists in preventing further action. In some, as in Cac=
tus Opuntia, a poisonous substance is formed. Heat seems thus
greatly to assist the action of light, though light acts as in that
of the harvest moons without heat; the states of the moon are
said to have great effect on vegetation in tropical countries; they
attract the atmosphere, also diminishing pressure, and assisting
expansion. ‘The chemical rays in the beam of light should
have a powerful effect; and also electricity, which is present
often where not suspected.

He next resumes the subject of the blossoming of trees; and
attributes the cause of fruitfulness in vines to the pruning of
their branches. It is well known, however, to gardeners, that,
if the rods of young wood are left long and not pruned, there
is much more blossom; in fact, the reason they give for pruning
is, that there would be more fruit than the plant could mature
if the rods were not cut short, and the more young wood they
want they cut the shorter.

The special object of agriculture, he says next, is to obtain
an abnormal developement and production of the parts of plants
employed as food, or for purposes of industry. When we
want to give strength to the straw, the substances giving solidity
to the straw, as silicate of potash, must be given; when we wish
to increase the quantity of seeds, nitrogen must be given.
Wild animals are devoid of fat, as compared with domestic
animals. Substances may be given, he says, to increase every
vital production; as charcoal powder will produce such an ex-
cessive growth of the liver of a goose as will cause its death.
The increase or diminution of the vital activity in plants, he
says, depends on heat and light, which we have not arbitrarily
at our disposal.

The duty of the chemist is to explain the composition of
a fertile soil; and on this head he enumerates the quantity
of alkalies contained in some of the most common of the
minerals; as feldspar, albite, mica, and zeolite, which form
part of the most common of our rocks. He gives the state-
ment of the quantity of potash on an acre, if composed of these

Observations on Liebig’s “ Organic Chemistry.” 123

to the depth of 20 in., which he estimates at from 300,000 lb.
in loam, to 1,152,000 lb. in feldspar; and that a single cubic
foot of feldspar would supply potash to an acre of pines for
five years; deducing hence the absurdity ‘of supposing that
plants would generate potash for themselves, when it is so
plentifully formed in nature. Argillaceous earths, he says, yield
the most potash, the chalk and sand are necessary to keep them
open, and give free access to air and moisture. ‘The soil which
is formed by the disintegration of lava cannot possibly contain
vegetable matter, and the luxuriance of plants on the lava of
Vesuvius, after being a few years exposed to the weather, shows
the benefit of the alkalies: these soils are more or less fertile,
he says, according to the proportion of clay or sand which they
contain. ‘The alkalies, he says, are greatly needed in the
germination of seeds and young plants; the acetic acid formed
and excreted in the expulsion of oxygen gas, and reduction of
the starch to mucilage, is neutralised by the lime, magnesia, and
other alkalies, and again absorbed as a neutral salt by the fibres.
I formerly pointed out the benefit of alkalies in germination;
when there is much starch and little albumen or gluten in the
seed, nitrogen should help; putrid urine would do, but the
quicklime, if used, would decompose the salts of ammonia, and
nitrate of potash (saltpetre) would be best. He quotes the
experiments of Struve, to show how water containing carbonic
acid decomposes rocks containing alkalies. Plants also, he says,
produce acids by their decay and excrement; thus the disinte-
gration of rocks proceeds; and soils, even though exhausted,
will, by rest, again produce alkalies. Around Naples, he says,
corn has been cultivated for thousands of years, by allowing two
years as fallow, or as a sparing pasture to cattle, which can add
no alkalies. ‘The harvests of wheat and tobacco have exhausted
the soil ef Virginia of alkalies; 1,200 lb. of alkalies are taken
from an acre every 100 years in these crops, and now the land
is unfertile. ‘The exhaustion of alkalies, he concludes, is the
sole source of want of fertility in soils. Wheat will not grow in
the Brazils, he says, though the soil abounds in humus; nor will
it grow in Europe in vegetable soils, because the silicate of potash
necessary to strengthen the stalk is wanting, and the phosphate
of magnesia for the seeds, neither of which substances a soil of
humus can afford ; and wheat grows best on clayey soils, because
alkalies are contained there in most abundance. Is it accident,
he says, that only firs grow in the sandstone and limestone of
the Carpathian Mountains ; whilst other trees are confined to the
gneiss, mica slate, and granite soils of Bavaria, the clinkstone of
the Rhone, the basalt of Vogelsberg, and clay slate of the Rhine
and Hifeld; the leaves of these trees are renewed annually, whilst
the evergreen pine leaves last much longer, and contain fewer

194 Observations on Liebig’s “ Organic Chemistry.”

alkalies. This shows, he says, how these trees thrive best after
the pine forests are uprooted in America; and how plants, as the
SpArtium scoparium, &c., grow best where ashes have been burnt.
Wheat has more ashes in its straw than barley, and barley more
than oats, in the proportions 15, 8, and 4; and therefore three
crops of oats, or two of barley, will not exhaust the soil more
than one of wheat. ‘The amount removed by hay is also con-~
siderable ; he instances a stack of hay which was consumed by
lightning in the neighbourhood of Heidelberg; and Gmelin found
the meteor left in its place was a mass of silicate of potash. The
potash may, in many places, he says, be replaced by soda, mag-
nesia, and lime; soda is the most powerful solvent of any, but
potash combines most readily in the plant: lime is much more
insoluble. Phosphoric acid, another ingredient wanted, is, he
says, a constituent of all land capable of cultivation ; even the
barren heath at Luneburg contains a small quantity; and from
the soil, andthe grains derived from it, is thus produced the
phosphoric acid needed by animals in the formation of their
bones: fluoride of calcium seems to have supplied the place of
phosphates, in the bones found at Pompeii, and other earlier
formations. He quotes from De Saussure, to show that the
quantity of potash decreases in wheat as it ripens, which thus
restores part of its potash to the soil. The disintegration of
rocks restores potash. Beans, peas, tares, and some other crops,
he says, contain only a very small quantity of ashes, sometimes
none, and should alternate with wheat. The tobacco, containing
only as 16 to 97 of phosphates, may also alternate.

From all that has been stated above, we may see the value of
the alkalies in all manures; but it would, perhaps, be an ex-
aggerated estimate to Jay it down as a principle, that the
temporary diminution of fertility is solely caused by the ex-
haustion of alkalies. That they are beneficial I have often seen
proof, in noticing that wherever the refuse of nursery plants
was burned the potato foliage of the ensuing crop was of a
deeper green, and more abundant, and the stems nearly double
the height; the tubers were not always proportionably increased.
On turnips we have observed the ashes to produce an opposite
effect; they sometimes died altogether: perhaps the ashes were
in excess. The ashes would also yield carbonic acid ; at p. 210.
of the Appendix, it is stated that the charcoal in which the plants
were grown was ultimately reduced to a coaly earth, having
yielded carbonic acid abundantly to the plants. Though it is a
substance that does not decompose quickly, it cannot be ab-
sorbed in the solid state, as Sir H. Davy’s experiments prove;
and those of Dr. Lindley, mentioned at the commencement,
confirm the above from the Appendix, that charcoal is reduced
by plants. If we trust to analysis of minerals for the quantity of

Observations on Liebio’s ** Organic Chemistry.” 125
§ g Y

alkalies in soils, we will be apt to be misled. In the latest work on
mineralogy, by Mr. Allan, analyses are given, by many chemists,
of different varieties of feldspar, in many of which the potash is
absent, and its place supplied by lime and magnesia; in the
prismatic common sort it is stated as high as 13 per cent. In
mica, many varieties under different names are stated as con-
taining no potash, but variable quantities of the other alkalies:
in mica, properly so called, and in talc mica, six different analyses
give the potash as varying from 5 to nearly 15 per cent, and
the magnesia from 9 to 26 per cent. Dr. Liebig’s estimate
differs from this. ‘The proportion of the different minerals in
the different rocks is more various still. Feldspar is generally
allowed to be the greatest source of potash, and is found in
greatest quantity in the igneous or volcanic rocks, as granite,
greenstone, basalt, and other trap rocks. Granite in Bavaria is
stated by Dr. Liebig as forming a fertile soil; but in Scotland
and England the soils lying on granite are proverbially barren,
from their high, bleak, and cold situation, and the thinness of the
stratum of soil. Clay soil, the professor says, generally contains
most alkali; hard stones of the order gem contain fewer alkalies
than those of the order spar, which are softer and more clayey ;
but some minerals containing a great deal of alumina are almost
destitute of potash.

The action of rivers and currents has great effect on soil,
according as they carry off or silt over the ground. In the soils
in this neighbourhood, which are formed from the debris of
sandstone lying above the carboniferous series, and of green-
stone or whin disrupted up through it, we have all varieties of
soils, from light sandy to stiff clayey. ‘The one side of the
river is all inclining to sandy; the other is generally clayey.
In wet seasons the best crops are had on the sandy soils, which
are generally warmer and drier, and about a month earlier in
springing; in warm dry seasons the clayey soils, if pulverised,
yield the best crops. Some manures, as cow-dung, retain more
water than others; and there is much of the art of cultivation lies
in preserving both heat and moisture, which are essential as well
as alkalies. The composition of a soil and its proper pulveri-
sation facilitate the entrance of heat and moisture, and retain
them to assist with the air in the decomposition-of the food; and
different soils and seasons require different management. On
this subject I treated more largely than I have room for here,
in my former esssay on Dr. Lindley’s work. In our deep al-
luvial soils, when the alkalies are exhausted by one crop, the
disintegration of the rock many feet buried below the surface
_ will go on very slowly: it should take many crops, I think, to
exhaust a soil of alkalies. Many crops of wheat are successively,
in rotation, taken from ground which gets nothing but ordinary

126 Observations on Liebig’s ‘ Organic Chemistry.”

manure to replace it. Wheat does well to succeed potatoes,
and both are found to contain a great deal of alkalies; as do
potatoes and turnips, according to Dr. Madden’s analysis. The
fertility of the lava soils near Vesuvius comes the nearest to the
point. Modern lava, however, is more spongy than the old vol-
canic rocks, from being disrupted i in the air, and not subjected to
the pressure of the sea above as the old trap rocks were. _ It is,
therefore, more easily reduced to soil; and a few years only will
suffice, by the seeds of lichens and their decomposition furnish-
ing food for larger plants; the decomposition and growth of
which, in a warm climate, may prepare a soil in which plants,
aided by the carbonic acid washed into the soil by rains, and
neutralised by the alkalies, may grow crops to great perfection,
having both alkalies and organic matter. In the instance of
good corn not being produced in Brazil, it has been attributed
to the heat of the climate expanding the straw till it becomes
feeble, as plants do in our hothouses that are not adapted to
them: the silicate of potash, the specific gravity of which,
1:26, is less than carbonate of potash and soda, is as likely to be
carried by rain as they are, and should exist in vegetable soils,
partly as silicates, seeing potash abounds in these soils. The
wheats originally drawn from the soils in Virginia differed in
nothing but climate from those of Brazil. The vegetable soils
he alludes to as not growing wheat in Europe are probably peat
soils, which, from the tannin they contain and stagnant water, are
unfit for food till fermented and reduced, when they are said to
be as good as manure. In the instance mentioned of pine trees
and deciduous plants, if these last shed their leaves annually, they
will again return them to the soil, and the alkalies with them.
The state of moisture to the roots, and the light, heat, and air
afforded to the leaves, are, perhaps, as much the causes of their
thriving, as any thing else. The pines thrive in general best
on bare dry soils, and are not usually fond of much moisture
to the roots. The genus Abies, or spruce, however, differs from
the other pines in this respect. ‘The larch, a deciduous plant, is
said not to thrive on sandstone or limestone rocks unless the
soil is deep; Scotch fir thrives well on such, though bare and
thin; and both are Abiétinaee. The beech will thrive on very
bare soil, the ash will not thrive unless near moisture; and
both are deciduous. Willows, poplars, and alders, and also ash,
will thrive in all moist soils, whether sandy or clayey, if the
moisture is not stagnant. Oaks, sycamore, and chestnuts re-
quire a dry and deep soil. ‘The oak requires the soil deep; the
beech, from its spreading root, will thrive in a dry moor, and so
will the Scotch fir. If there is too much or too little moisture
for the particular species, or too little light and air, it seems to
affect them most readily. The Scotch fir grows well on granitic

—

Observations on Liebio’s * Oreanic Chemistry.” Lae
8 S Y

soils, if thin and bare, and will also on sandstone; while oak
will not thrive so well in bare thin granite soils as when they are
deeper. Clovers are found to exhaust the soil in this country
more than wheat; at least they cannot be renewed so often on
the same ground; and no addition of lime, gypsum, or manure,
is found to remove the difficulty altogether. Yet the editor of
the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture remarks that, if the clover
in the rotation is grown for four in place of two years, the dif-
ficulty vanishes; what can be the reason of this? If we say it
is in affording longer time for the first deposit of excrement to
be decomposed, what becomes of the last deposit, and how
would it not decompose more readily when the clovers were
removed? ‘here are many things in practice that baffle theory ;
this can only arise from errors in theory, if practice is correctly
stated. All are interested in setting things right, that we may
have right principles to guide us. I have seen much in what
the professor says, to prove the benefit of alkalies, more than
could be condensed in an essay; and all are concerned in
proving such theories for themselves, before adopting them as
principles. If the inferences drawn are correct to their utmost
extent, we ought to alter our system much to advantage ; if they
are to be modified, it can only be done by the aid of practical
men in digesting them.

On the next and last division, the Znterchange of Crops and
Manure, he commences by stating the benefits formerly de-
rived from fallows, the land by rest regaining its original fer-
tility ; some crops thriving only after a succession of years, as peas,
clover, and flax; others, as hemp, tobacco, rye, and oats, being
capable of following one another. Wheat, hops, turnips, hemp,
poppies, &c., he instances as crops which exhaust the ground.
The excrements of man and animals have been employed for
increasing the fertility of the soil: they restore certain constituents
removed by the former crops. It has been observed, however,
that even manure will not always restore fertility, and that
alternation of crops is necessary; a change producing fertility
as well as fallow. It is evident, therefore, he remarks, that all
plants must give back to the soil something that is capable of
being used as food by the succeeding generation. Agriculture,
he says, has neglected to seek the aid of chemistry, in obtaining a
chemical knowledge of the food of plants and of manure ; it even
recoils with distrust and aversion, he complains, from the means
of assistance afforded by chemistry; and some future generation
must reap the advantages which the present denies to itself.
Practical men should endeavour to do away with the necessity
for these complaints; they may be difficult to convince, but, if
once convinced, will look to their own interest. He next
notices DeCandolle’s theory, that plants give out excrements,

128 Observations on Liebig’s ** Organic Chemistry.”

and that one plant may live in the matter rejected by another:
also the experiments of Macaire Prinsep, which show that
leguminous plants grown in water cause the water to acquire
a brown colour; that plants of the same kind will not grow
in this water, while plants of corn grow vigorously and clean
the water. Some plants he found to return excrements of an
acrid resinous nature, which were poisonous; others a mild
gummy excrement, which was nutritious. Excrements differ,
he says, from excretions, excrements may contain undigested
food ; excretions, the food being already extracted from it, cannot
give out food again, till it forms new combinations in the soil
by putrefaction and contact with the air. ‘This putrefaction will
take place more quickly in a calcareous open soil, than in a
more dense and clayey one; and the rotations may be more
quickly followed in the former than in the latter. In some
places, he says, clover will not thrive till the sixth, in others not
till the twelfth, year. ‘The excrement, he states, must be com-
pletely transformed, before a new crop of the same article can
be grown. Flax, peas, clover, and even potatoes, are plants
the excrements of which require the longest time for their
reduction to humus. Other writers have represented the potato
as having very little if any excrement. The use of alkalies and
burnt lime, or wood ashes not lixiviated, will permit, by their
action, the crops to be renewed much sooner. In the soils
in the neighbourhood of the Rhine and Nile, which contain
much potash, and also organic matter, and in the irrigation of
meadows, which brings both substances, the fallowing of the
land is superseded by the inundation; the oxgyen of the water
also effects the more rapid putrefaction of the excrements.

A fertile soil ought, he says, to afford all the znorganic as
well as organic bodies required for the plants. When the alka-
lies are in combination with mineral acids, as the silicic, or
silex, the ashes yield no carbonic acid ; when they are united to
organic acids, the ashes effervesce with mineral acids. ‘The
silicic acid is the material from which wood takes its origin, as
salts in solution will crystallise round a grain of sand. Silicic
acid supplies the place of woody fibre in the Hquisetaceze and
bamboo, as oxalate of lime does in the lichens. Some plants
will not thrive without phosphate of lime or magnesia ; others
will not do so without carbonate of lime. Wheat, which con-
sumes great part of the silicate-of potash, should be followed
by such as require little potash, as beans, peas, turnips, po-
tatoes. At page 104. the ashes of potato plants are stated as
1,500 compared to 83 of firs. The leaves and stems of potatoes
should be kept and returned to the soil, and the straw of
wheat. ‘The same precautions must be observed in the rotations
of other plants, for phosphates, carbonates, &c. ‘To supply

‘

Observations on Liebig’s “ Organic Chemistry.” 129

the organic constituents, he recommends fallow plants, as clover,
rye, buckwheat, &c., ploughed into the soil when nearly in bloom,
tosupply humus. Lucerne, he says, is most effectual; it re-
quires few inorganic matters, and, till a certain period of the
growth, retains all the carbonic acid and ammonia which may
have been conveyed to the plants by rain and air, and the great
breadth of foliage prevents the escape of ammonia into the air.
When the green principle is produced in leaves, by light and
heat stimulating the action of the organs, the remainder of what
was absorbed by them is returned as excrements to the soil;
and, after the lapse of a few years, he says, every fibre of the
roots will be surrounded with them. As these excrements
remain for some time scluble, they will act as poison; and the
fields will produce barren places till the excrement is decom-
posed, when they will again become fertile. ‘The roots, as they
continue to extend, should partly leave this excrement. We
must replace all the other substances, as well as carbon and
nitrogen ; and it is for this, he says, that manures are wanted.
Kivery constituent of the body of animals is derived from
plants; during their life they return the inorganic substances
not needed, as excrement. After death their nitrogen and
carbon pass into the air in the form of carbonic acid and
ammonia. Nothing remains except the phosphates of lime, &c.,
and other substances in their bones ; which must, he says, be a
powerful manure for plants, if every thing is to be restored to
the land which is taken from it. In the enquiry as to what the
excrements yield, he notices that, though animals are fed on
substances containing nitrogen, there is very little of it in their
excrement, the greater part being assimilated by themselves. In
100 parts of the excrement of a horse, analysed by Macaire
and Mareet, only 0°8 of nitrogen was found in 100; and in that
of the cow by Boussingault only 0:506. 25lb.of hay, the food
of the cow for a day, should yield 4 1b. of nitrogen ; and this is
the quantity found in 8°3 1b. of flesh in its natural condition ; and
as the daily increase of size in a cow is much less than this, the
remainder of the nitrogen must be found in the milk and urine,
The nitrogen is therefore found in greatest quantity in the liquid,
not the solid, excrements of animals. The quantities of salts and
earthy matters contained in horse-dung, he says, is very variable,
from 10 to 27 per cent. 1000 lb. of horse-dung, he calculates,
will yield inorganic substances to 6000 lb. of hay, the crop on
nearly 24 acres; or 8,300 lb, of oats on more than 3 acres; and
the same quantity would yield phosphates to 13 crop of wheat.
The excrements of cows, black cattle, and sheep contain phos-
phate of lime, common salt, and silicate of lime, the weight of
which varies from 9 to 28 per cent. ‘The fresh excrement of the

cow contains from 80 to 90 per cent of water ; that of the horse
1841.— II}. 3d Ser. K

130 Observations on Liebig’s ‘* Organie Chemistry.”

from 69 to 75 per cent. Human feeces, analysed by Berzelius,
contain 75 per cent of water, from 14 to 5 per cent of nitrogen,
and 15 per cent ef phosphates of jime and magnesia. ‘The
vegetable constituents are of influence, as they Paomeslh carbonic

acid to the young plants. The quantity, however, is not great, —

he says, and estimates it only at 5°8 per cent, the greatest be-
nefit being derived from the inorganic constituents. In manur-
ing with cow and sheep dung, we replace silicate of potash and
phosphates ; with human faces, phosphates of lime, and mag-
nesia; with those of the horse, phosphate of magnesia and
silicate of potash. In the straw litter we add “silicate of
potash and phosphates; which, if the straw be putrefied,
will be in the same condition as when taken up by the ori-
ginal wheat or oats. The soil of a field will therefore alter
little, he adds, if we collect and distribute the dung carefully.
The phosphates carried off by men and animals will accumulate
in the neighbourhood of large towns. This must be compen-
sated for at a distance from towns by letting lie in grass; and
near towns by the excrements collected, and by the ashes of the
wood used in houses for fuel, which also replace phosphates.
We could keep our fields fertile, by replacing what is taken off;
but, when we wish to increase produce, we must add more than
we take away. In Flanders this is done, he says, by covering the
fields with ashes of wood, either lixiviated or not, and bones which
yield phosphates of lime and magnesia. ‘These ashes, he says, are

often carried from eighteen to twenty-four miles. ‘The ashes of

oaks yield only traces “of phosphates ; those of beech 20 per cent;
those of the pine and fir 9 to 15 per cent, some pines much less.
Every 100 lb. of the lixiviated ashes of beech, he calculates,
would furnish as much phosphate as 460 Ib. of human excre-
ment. 1001b. of the ashes of the grain of wheat yield 76°5 per
cent of phosphates, and the straw 11's 5 per cent. Hence, with
every 100 lb. of the ashes of the beech, we supply a field with
phosphates sufficient for 3,820 lb. of straw, as there are only 4°3
per cent of ashes in the straw; and 15,000 to 18,000 lb. of corn,
as the ashes in it amount only to 1:3 per cent. Bones formed
by animals from the eating of hay, straw, and corn, yield, ac-
cording to an analysis of Berzelius, 55 per cent of the phosphate
of lime and magnesia; and, calculating that hay contains as much
phosphates as wheat straw, 8 lb. of bones will supply phosphates
to 1,000 lb. of straw, and 2-lb. to 1,000 lb. of grain. Now, 40 1b.
of bone dust, he calculates, are sufficient to supply three crops of
wheat, clover, potatoes, and turnips on an acre, with phosphates.
The more finely the bones are powdered, and the more intimately
they are mixed with the soil, the more easily are they assimilated.
The best way to effect the renovation, he says, is to pour over
the bones, in a state of fine powder, balf their weight of sul-

Observations on Liebiy’s “ Organic Chemistry.” 131

phuric acid (vitriol), diluted with three or four parts of water ;
after digesting for some time, add 100 parts of water, and
sprinkle the mixture over the field before the plough. The sul-
phuric acid will dissolve, but not decompose, the phosphates,
unless partially ; and the free acid unites with the alkalies in the
earth, and a neutral salt (probably gypsum) is formed, in a
very fine state of division. In the manufactories of glue, he
says, many hundred tons of a solution of phosphates in muriatic
acid are yearly thrown away as useless; this solution, he thinks,
might be substituted for bones. The free acid would form mu-
_riate of lime (chloride of calcium), which has a great affinity
for water, and might supply the place of gypsum, in forming
muriate of ammonia and carbonate of lime. ‘The ashes of brown
coal and peat contain also potash and phosphates. It is of much
importance, he says, that the mode of action of all these sub-
stances should be known; and he illustrates this by the way in
which iodine is now used in medicine, instead of burnt sponge,
and phosphate of soda in place of cow-dung in calico-printing ; and
says we may one day manure our fields with a solution of glass
(silicate of potash). In this country soda is generally used as
the flux for glass. We may also purchase phosphates of mag-
nesia, he says, as we now do medicines from the apothecary.
Some plants, he continues, require humus; others can do without
humus, and give it off as excrement.

Having now considered what was necessary for supplying
plants with the other requisites; he proceeds to consider the pro-
duction of nitrogen, which abounds in all parts of plants, but
especially in the seeds and roots. The atmosphere furnishes it,
he says, in quantity sufficient for the existence of plants, to pre-
vent their extinction; but the complete developement of the
cultivated plants in sugar, starch, and eluten cannot be obtained,
unless we afford nitrogen sufficient. ‘The nitrogen in the feeces
of animals which feed on plants is not so great in quantity as
in those which feed on flesh; and the faeces of human beings
differ in this respect according to their feeding. The feeces of
cattle are of most use in soils which contain little potash; the
faeces of men are most useful in clay soils. It is the urine in
the manure which contains the ammonia. He takes the analysis
of urine by Berzelius, which contains mostly salts of ammonia,
water, and urea; the urea in this analysis is 3 per cent; the muriate
and phosphate of ammonia about 0°3 per cent; and the free
lactic acid, lactate of ammonia, and animal matter, 1°7; mucus
0-032, and other salts about 1°52 per cent. Theurea in human
urine, according to Henry, is partly lactate of urea, and partly
urea in a free state. When it putrefies, the lactate of urea is
converted into lactate of ammonia, and the urea which was free

into carbonate of ammonia: this last is retained in solution til}
K 2

132 Observations on Liebig’s ** Organic Chemistry.”

spread out on the ground, when, being more volatile than the
other salts of ammonia, it is apt to escape into the air, unless
washed into the soil, where it may be united to other acids if pre-
sent, or taken up by the roots, but he thinks it most likely to be
volatilised. The other salts of ammonia are taken up by the roots.
When the carbonate of ammonia is lost, he says, the loss is
equal to nearly one half of the urine employed; and he proposes
various methods to fix it: as strewing a field with gypsum, and
then with the urine, which will convert the carbonate into the
sulphate of ammonia. It may be done more easily, he says, by
mixing the urine wit’: gypsum, chloride of calcium, sulphuric
acid, muriatic acid (spirit of salt), or superphosphate of lime,
all cheap substances, which would convert the volatile carbonate
of ammonia into more fixed salts. If a basin of muriatic acid
is put in contact with the fumes of ammonia from a necessary,
it is converted, he says, into crystals of muriate of ammonia
(sal ammoniac), The ammonia which escapes in stables is
converted into nitric acid, when in contact with the lime of
the mortar, which dissolves the lime, and forms soluble nitrates.
If the floors of our stables and necessaries were strewed with
gypsum, they would lose their offensive smell, by the volatile
carbonate of ammonia, which gives the smell, being converted
into sulphate of ammonia, a valuable manure. The uric acid con-
tains, next to urea, most nitrogen ; it is soluble in water, and can
thus be absorbed by the roots, and its nitrogen formed into ox-
alate, hydrocyanate, or carbonate, of ammonia. In respect to
the quantity of nitrogen, 2 says that 100 parts of the urime of
a healthy man are equal to 1,300 parts of the fresh dung of a
horse, and 600 parts of a cow’s dung.

The powerful effecis of urine as a manure ave well known
in Flanders; and are considered invaluable by. the Chinese, the
oldest agricultural people. ‘Their laws attach so much value to
human excrements as to forbid their being thrown away, and
reservoirs are placed in every house to collect them with the
greatest care; very little value is there attached to the excre-
ment of animals. The Chinese were before us in dyeing and
painting, and in manufactories of porcelain and silk; but by the
aid of chemistry, he says, we have now been enabled to surpass
them. How infinitely inferior still is the agriculture of Europe
to that of China! They are the most admirable gardeners
and trainers of plants in the world; and know how to prepare
and apply the best-adapted manures. With us, he says, thick
books are written, and we do not know yet what manure ~
is; no experiments being instituted. Calculating the urine of
a man at 1ilb. daily, and the faeces at 71b., and that both
yield 3 per cent of nitrogen, about 163 lb. of nitrogen would be
furnished annually, which would be sufficient for 800 1b. of

Observations on Liebig’s “ Organic Chemistry.” 153

wheat, rye, and oats, or 9001b. of barley; more than an acre
of land would require, when assisted by the atmosphere, for the
richest possible crop every year. Every town and farm, he con-
tinues, might thus supply itself with the manure containing most
nitrogen, and also the most phosphates. By using at the same
time bones, and the lixiviated ashes of wood, the excrements of
animals might be completely dispensed with.

It is difficult to remove the moisture from human excrements
without evaporating theirammonia. In Paris they are evaporated ;
and this destroys more than half of the ni‘rogen, though the re-

mainder is still very valuable. ‘The Chinese mix them Silh marl
in dry cakes. He advises to neutralise the ammonia with some
cheap mineral acid, such as sulphuric or muriatic According
to the Library of Useful Knowledge, the last is best obtained by
mixing common salt with an equal weight of strong vitriol. If
this mixture were applied, when newly put together, that no
escape of muriatic acid might take place, muri vate of ammonia
and sulphate of soda might be formed; sulphate of lime or
sulphate of potash, found both in turnips and potatoes by Dr.
Madden, may sometimes be’ formed also. When quicklime is
applied, it seizes on the carbonic acid of the ammonia, forming
carbonate of lime, and the ammonia escapes. Mild lime or marl
should have partly this effect also. In some marls, containing
alumina and potash, it might be retained beneficially. The
guano of South America, Ne, says, is mostly urate of ammonia.
The corn fields in China, he says, have no weeds, as they use
human excrement, while we sow weeds every year with our
manure. I have seen the excrement of cows, when fed on
potato plums, quite full of the seed of the potato. It will be
-the same with most of the small seeds of grasses, odes et hesomliy
preventive is, ‘o rot the manure well, and </estroy the seeds.
The urine of the horse contains less nitrogen and phosphates
than that of man. It contains only 0-7 of urea, while that of man
contains four times as much. ‘The urine of a cow, according to
Brande, he says, is rich in salts of potasu, and almost destitute
of soda. In the analysis by Brande, in Agricultural Chemistry,
the quantity of urea is stated as 4 per cent, much more than that
of a man; reiterated analyses and experiments are perhaps needed
before we are certain of being correct. ‘Lhe urine of the swine,
Dr. Liebig says, contains a large quantity of the phosphates of
magnesia “and ammonizy asuname is a creat means of re-

t=) 5

placing nitrogen; and, where pasturage is not followed, manures

containing nitrogen are more needed. ‘The quantity st nitrogen

carried to fhe grave with every individual, he estimates at 3 tb.,

and this is again given off to the aimaepnens | in the state of am-

monia. The greatest value, he says, shou!d be attached to liquid

excrements; for every pound of ammonia, a loss of szxty pounds
; Kk 3

134 Observations on Liebig’s ** Organic Chemistry.”

of corn is sustained; with every pound of urine a pound of wheat
might be produced. The phosphates are soluble in urine, and
insoluble, till altered, in solid excrements. Bones, wool, hair,
hoofs, and horns contain nitrogen and phosphates. 100 parts
of dry bones (not boiled) contain 32 to 33 per cent of dry
gelatine; and, calculating this at 5°28 per cent, the same quan-
tity as srolimall glue, 100. parts of bones are therefore equivalent
to 250 parts of urine. Bones. will keep dry for 1000 years,
he says. ‘They become warm when reduced to powder, and
the gelatine is then decomposed, but absorbed by the porous
bone and retained. Charcoal, in a state of powder, he considers
a very powerful manure on heavy soils. He quotes from Ingen-
housz to show that sulphuric acid, diluted with 8 or 10 times its
weight of water, would be an excellent manure, forming gypsum
with the lime in the soil. 100 parts of concentrated sulphuric
acid are equivalent, he states, to 176 parts of gypsum; if there
is potash in the soil, sulphate of potash may also be formed, or
soda, if any.

On this last division of the subject, I would observe that, hav-
ing frequently used bones as drainage to the bottoms of flower-
pots to encourage fine plants, | have observed that the roots
refused to enter among the pieces of bones, when small and
fermented ; and the tips “of the spongioles were of a dirty brown
diseased colour. I think it is probable this was owing to the
carbonate of ammonia, which, the professor says, is absorbed by
the bones, being in excess. This is probably the cause why
urine, when applied in dry weather, kills so many plants: it is
probably too strong, unless when the urine is well diluted with rain
or other water. Denese of food is always prejudicial, especially a
stimulant food, such as ammonia. When urine is put on in wet
weather, it seldom hurts; when put on in dry weather, it should
be well diluted. The uric acid being soluble may be the cause
of the harm partly, as putrid urine does not hurt so readily.
The urine should be carefully kept by itself, and applied fresh
to growing plants in wet weather, or in a diluted state; when
the carbonate of ammonia already formed will be washed into
the soil with the urine by the rain, and any new carbonate
produced as the putrefaction proceeds will be given off to the
roots as formed, and both carbon and ammonia will thus be
given to the plant. Carbonate of ammonia should be the most
beneficial to plants of all the salts of ammonia, from the carbon
it contains.

The urine of cows is used in great quantities here by gardeners,
for manuring vine borders, gooseberry bushes, cauliflowers, &c. ;
and they wash it into the soil by putting it on in wet weather
or using water. It is put on both when the plants are growing,
and in a dormant state in the winter: from the volatility of

Observations on Liebig’s “ Organic Chemistry.” 135

the carbonate, it should be best to alter it for some mineral
acid in the winter. If needed to be kept over, some of the
methods before recommended should be adopted to fix the
ammonia by mineral acids. Urine of all descriptions should be
separated from the solid excrements and kept by itself, and
either washed into the soil as speedily as possible, or the salts of
ammonia fixed. ;

The ammonia in the solid excrements, or when they cannot
be kept separate, should be preserved by allowing as little
evaporation as possible; the air may be admitted without
the heat of the sun, and the dung heap should be covered with
some substance that would absorb the ammonia and carbonic
acid, and not hurt the manure. Quicklime is the very worst
that could be applied; the insoluble carbonate of lime is formed
and the ammonia set free; most of the salts of lime are insoluble ;
the gypsum itself requires a great deal of water. Charcoal of
wood in small powder, not large pieces, should be the very best;
it absorbs the carbonate of ammonia; it will help the decom-
position of the charcoal, which is difficult, and the charcoal
always contains less or more of potash. A covering of loamy
earth a few inches thick, moist, not wet, should retain the most
of the volatile substances, and may be put above the charcoal
powder, or by itself without any. If the charcoal is in large
pieces, it absorbs the ammonia and carbonic acid of the dung,
and even the soluble substances, and does not give them off
readily. I have seen in my practice one cart of street ashes,
which contains mineral coal in the state of charcoal, mixed with
four or six carts of cow-dung in the winter; and when it came
to be put on in the spring, in place of the rich black manure
expected, we had only so much dry straw; nor did the mass
when applied to the ground produce much more effect than
ashes would have done. ‘The ashes are too often in the state of
large cinders, which absorb like a sponge; the remains of do-
mestie fires should be well sifted, and nothing but the powdery
dust retained, which will be valuable from the potash generally
contained in the state of carbonates and sulphates, and any thing
it absorbs will be speedily given out. The night-soil, if kept by
itself, is of much more value, incomparably more than the whole
heap of cinders, &c., mixed. Much good manure is lost in this
way ; the night-soil, urine, soapsuds, &c., should be carefully kept
separate from the ashes: it is like throwing them to waste, to allow
the cinders to absorb them. Unboiled bones are best, as they
contain most gelatine; and, if present effect is wanted, they
should be ground small and spread thin. Some have fancied,
when they found roots clustered round whole bones, that it was
for the nourishment they contained; but how will the bone give

off nourishment till fermented, which will be very sparingly from
K 4

136 Observations on Liebis’s * Organic Chemistry.”
§ g a]

whole bones? The fibres will cluster in the same way round a
piece of freestone, limestone, or potsherd. Though the presence
of ammonia around all the organs of plants, and in many of
their products, leads us to anes its necessity; yet it is, perhaps,
too much, to say that every pound of ammonia should produce
exactly a corresponding proportional increase in corn. Allowing
ammonia to have all the benefits claimed for it, we must have
the other constituents likewise, and must take into account the
structure of the leaves and other elaborating organs, in which
some plants possess much more power than others; also the
variable quantities of light and heat, assisting and stimulating
those powers. ‘There is some limit also to all these, however
far we may be from it yet, in agriculture and horticulture; and
if we draw too much on these powers, as in over-fruiting, it
may be only to hasten the termination: all the food in the
world, though full of nitrogen, will not produce an indefinite
increase on the size either of plants or animals; it is, perhaps,
necessary to notice this, to prevent our being “3 sanguine.
Some of your readers, as Mr. Main, will be more able to give
information about Chinese operations. In a population so dense,
and where labour is so cheap, animals are less needed, and, the
ground being better pulverised and weeded, the crops will be
greater. The proper pulverisation of the ground, at proper
seasons, keeps it open, and admits both heat and moisture
more freely, as also the carbonic acid and ammonia of the at-
mosphere; and, where it is broke into small pieces, the confined
air retains heat, moisture, and the gases more perfectly, the
small pieces of soil acting by capillary attraction; the heat and
moisture en ground well pulverised are, without the aid of instru-
ments, perceptibly more than when it is not so. ‘Vhe great effects
of pulverisation and attention to the other requisites a cropping
have been frequently pointed out in this and other magazines ;
in the allotments assigned to cottagers, the produce on which is
many times that of ordinary cultivation, and in so populous a
country as China, this may have great effect. Many of the im-
provements in the manufactories of porcelain ware, silk, dyeing,
&c., were the results of practical application, discovered by ac-
cident, and kept for some time as secrets, though they have been
vastly improved on, and many new discoveries made by science.
In what the professor says about the likelihood of uric acid
being soluble and absorbed, and the nitrogen it contains converted
into ammonia, we may be led to wonder if the small quantity of
nitrogen soluble in water (Dr. Thomson says, 13 to 4 per cent)
may not be taken up by the roots and assimilated. It forms am-
monia most readily when newly set free; but the living plant
possesses more powers of transformation than we yet can define.

At p. 154., it seems probable that the phosphates needed will

Observations on Liebig’s “ Organic Chemistry.” 137

be in some measure supplied by the soil itself, phosphoric acid
being a constituent of all, even the poorest, soils. ‘To talk of
manuring with a solution of glass is startling; if potash is added
to the soil, the silicic acid generally abounds, and silicate of
potash (glass) is formed in the soil. It requires considerable
heat; but the roots likely assist, as in all our grain crops there
seems no want of it. Glass is most commonly made in this
country from soda. Sodais the most powerful solvent, and will
be of most use if the food is absorbed in solution and the bases
returned, which, I think, is likely to turn out to be the case.
Chloride of sodium (common salt) is very poisonous, if in excess.

It will be seen, in attentively perusing the analysis of manures
extracted from Dr. Liebig’s work, that they have been made on the
presumption that the atmosphere is the source of carbon to plants
by the leaves, and that ammonia and salts are the principal requi-
sites to be furnished by manures. It will alter the case materially if
we take a different view of the subject, and suppose the principal
part of the food to be got by the roots. If we cut down a tree
on the stem to near the roots, it will spring away with the
greatest vigour; will it do the same if the roots are cut off near
the stem, though we keep the atmosphere saturated with mois-
ture, carbonic acid, and ammonia? If the leaves are the only
source of carbon, whence the great growth when there are no
leaves to feed it, or how does the cutting of the roots prevent
the action of the leaves? Can we rest assured that soluble sub-
stances will not be assimilated in the plant, when taken up by the
roots? when we see that the same substances, as sugar, starch,
&c., formed in the plant, in seeds, tubers, and bulbs, around
buds, and in all parts of the plant, are taken up in spring, dis-
solved in the ascending sap, and, assisted by the action of nitrogen
(so powerfully described by the professor, and which the soluble
substances absorbed by the fibres will obtain so readily from the
nitrogen abounding in the roots), assimilated by the plant. If
the one are assimilated, so undoubtedly will be the other. If we
can add to this the action of alkalies in rendering food soluble,
and being separated in the plant, and again returned to dissolve
more food; if we take all these into account, we will find many
useful constituents in manures besides the earthy salts and am-
monia. In green and soft vegetables we will find matter nearly
in a state of solubility, which must be put into the soil as soon
as possible, or mixed up with other substances more solid, or
with earth, to preserve as much as possible of the volatile sub-
stances. If the vegetable substances are more fibrous and
woody, as clippings of hedges, sawdust, tanner’s bark, peat, &c.,
some substances in a state of fermentation, or which have a
tendency to induce that state, should be added. Quicklime is
of use in inducing a commencement of decay, by extracting

138 Observations on Liebig’s Organic Chemistry.”

carbonic acid from the woody fibre, which commences trans-
formation and fermentation; but the carbonic acid that is united
to the lime is rendered insoluble and lost: it should not be ap-
plied to mixtures where there is much soluble matter, it is of
most use in commencing action where it is difficult, as in the
woody fibre. Heat and moisture, not wetness, should be en-
couraged as much as possible in all substances difficult to
reduce. Yeast, and all substances containing nitrogen, are
above all others valuable for continuing fermentation, which will
go on as long as nitrogen is to be found in the compound.
Sawdust of beech, ash, and other deciduous trees may be fer-
mented into manure; but sawdust from resinous fir trees is very
difficult to reduce: I have kept this and the scales of silver
fir cones for years to ferment, and got nothing soluble, unless a
few earthy salts: they are as manageable burnt as any other

way ; the ashes, the most that can ‘be made available, are re-
tained. Tanner’s bark, from the antiseptic principle of tannin
it contains, is also difficult to reduce, and requires some very
active fermenting substance, as yeast. It is the small quantity
of oxygen they contain, and the superabundance of hydrogen,
which must be separated before carbonic acid is formed, and
requires much more heat, that prevent their being made soluble;

(Ss)
and, though exposed to the oxygen of the air, the carbonic

acid is formed so slowly, that it is dissipated before it can be
made available. Alkalies mixed among fermenting substances
further the process of putrefaction gr eatly ; ; acids retard it. Sea-
weed is exceedingly easily dissolved, and should be well mixed
with other substances, or put into the soil as soon as possible.
Soft animal matters, the refuse of slaughter-houses, &c., are also
very easily rendered soluble; both these and seaweed should
be well incorporated with strata of earth, and kept dry and
cool.

Much has been said as to the application of dairy and
stable manure, whether it should be applied fresh or rotted.
Most of our theorists advise its application in a fresh, or un-
fermented, state; most practical men are in favour of rotting.
In the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, we had experiments
narrated a few years back, in which an intelligent practical agri-
culturist measured a certain quantity of manure, which he laid
past in a heap to rot; and at turnip-sowing he applied the rotted
heap, and the same bulk as the original quantity fresh, to equal
measured off portions of ground in the same field; and the result
was a very great increase ‘of crop with the rotted manure. Others
say their experience has led to a different result. Perhaps the
wisest course may lie ina medium. We have seen it incontest-
ably proved, by the experiments of Sir H. Davy and Dr. Liebig,

that carbonate of ammonia is given off, less or more, according

Observations on Liebig’s ** Organic Chemistry.” 139

to the temperature and rapidity of the fermentation ; it is this, and
the sulphuretted hydrogen formed by animal substances putrefy-
ing, that give the nauseous smells of the dung heap: the last is
the most nauseous, and like rotten eggs. Part of the carbonic acid
also is lost. Undoubtedly there is loss in allowing fermentation to
proceed. ‘The whole quantity, however, stated by Sir H. Davy’s
experiments was not loss: the water of the dung would contain
great part of the carbonic acid and ammonia which was found in
his retort. The loss may be greatly prevented by preserving the
urine, &c., as much as possible in a separate state, and covering
the dung heap with loam. The question seems to lie in, whether
the decomposition will go on as well, or to as much advantage,
in the soil, as in the dung heap. I am afraid not: the heat
and moisture are much greater in the dung heap; and, when fer-
mentation is once commenced, it will proceed much better by
keeping ina heap, than spreading out. From the vast quantity
of undecomposed organic matter in a fertile soil (I think Dr.
Madden estimated it at 10 per cent in some fertile soils), the pro-
cess of eremacausis, or conversion into carbonic acid, must be
very slow, when the constituents of the manure are spread in
the soil; and putrefaction must render much organic matter soluble
‘in the dung heap, which would not be so for a very long time in
the soil, and would not benefit the crops it was intended for.
The dung heap should not be very deep, and ought to be turned
frequently, that as much of the surface may be exposed to the oxy-
gen of the air as can be done safely, to carry on the fermentation,
and not evaporate too much; the oxygen unites to the free carbon,
forming carbonic acid, and is most needed when the substances
are least soluble. It should be bedded above loam, on purpose
that the dissolved matter of the dung in the water may not be
run off and lost. Very heavy rains should be thrown off by
coverings, open at the ends to admit air. In very warm weather
the sun should be kept off, and the heat in the manure, so neces-
sary to carry on fermentation, should not be allowed to go far:
I have seen it, when neglected, evaporate the dung to a white
dry straw, nearly im the state of charcoal. Sir H. Davy says,
fermentation goes on from 55° to 80°; but there will not be much
given off till above 100°. The heap should be turned to prevent ~
the heat going too far, and cool dry air admitted. In dry warm
weather, stable manure will sometimes need watering. A layer
of loamy earth should be put above all, to absorb as much as
possible of the carbonic acid and ammonia given off. If the
putrefaction were maintained in a very violent condition, or
continued too long, the whole of the soluble matters would be
evaporated into gases, and nothing but the earthy salts remain ;
and we may err by too much, as well as too little, fermentation.
The time cannot be specified ; from three to six months should

140 Observations on Liebig’s ** Organic Chemistry.”

be sufficient for a mixture of stable and dairy manure; which is
the best way to keep it, as the water of the cow-dung corrects
the want of it in the hor se-dung. Much, however, depends on
the warmth of the weather, and the quantity of straw, &c., in
the dung. When rotted so as to be easily cut with the spade
is perhaps the time when we will have most soluble matter at
least loss.

It must be evident that experiments will settle such questions
with difficulty, when we consider that, in warm, moist, showery
weather, the dung may ferment in the soil as well as in the
heap; it may even act as a drain with the undecomposed
straw, when the weather is very wet: in dry cold springs, on
the contrary, the moisture will soon be evaporated from the
small quantities spread in the soil, decomposition cease, and the
manure be hurtful; whereas, had it been decomposed, it would
have retained its water and soluble food. In general, I should
think rotting the manure to a certain extent most beneficial.
One of the greatest benefits of manure is, the water absorbed
by capillary attraction in its pores; and it will absorb best when
rotted. Sir H. Davy was of opinion, that the powers of a fertile
soil may be tested by its powers of absorbing water. All organic
substances possess this in agreatdegree. Calcareous substances
absorb water, and keep the soil free, which is one of the greatest
benefits of lime; sand, generally of quartz, keeps the anil open,
but retains no moisture ; alumina or clay absorbs water, but is
apt to agelutinise into solid i impervious skin and lumps, prevent-
ing the access of heat and air to the soil, and keeping water
stagnant. A due proportion of quartz, or silex, and lime, is
therefore necessary in all soils to keep therm open; some white
sandstones, as that contained in heath mould, have so much
alumina and calcareous matter in their semampashiion. that they
both keep open and retain moisture: it is of great use in peat
soil, which, if once thoroughly dried, is not easily moistened
again. The moisture absorbed by well decomposed manure is
of great value to the roots in dry weather ; it is a solvent for the
food, and is needed as a constituent of the food itself, affording
fydrosan and oxygen in the proportions found in most vegeta-
ble substances. Cow-dung containing most water is best for dry
sandy soils, and horse-dung for cold clayey soils; but they de-
compose best together, and there is not so much difference in the
water contained when both are rotted: fresh straw manure drains
off the water. According to Dr. Madden’s analysis, the water
in dairy manure is nearly three times that in stable manure;
the organic matter in both is nearly the same, almost 40 per cent ;
as however, in the dairy manure, only one half was soluble in
water and potash, while in the stable manure it was two thirds,
we see the benefit of mixing the two together, that both may

1
q
4

Observations on Liebig’s “ Organic Chemistry.” 141

decompose alike. A little further fermentation in the manure
might have made more of it soluble, without a corresponding
loss; and in such analysis chemistry might greatly aid practical
men. The dung of high-fed animals is always allowed to produce
most benefit; there will be most undigested matter in the ex-
crement, and from feeding on grains most nitrogen. Dr. Liebig
says, fat animals have most free nitrogen.

Oils are valuable as manures ; they will keep long, as they are
not easily decomposed, and are rendered soluble by being mixed
with potash and soda, in which state they are taken up as soluble
soaps, and their carbon, &c., assimilated in the plant. The un-
common fertility of bleaching-greens, when newly broken up,
is a proof of this. I have seen soils not otherwise rich pro-
duce immense heads of cauliflower at first breaking up, which
could not be made to do so afterwards; cauliflower is well known
to require both rich soil and extra manure, yet did the soap-
suds in a bleaching-green suffice to impart that quality to a poor
black sandy soil. ‘The lixiviated ashes of soapers’ waste are
likely to contain both oil and alkali, and the contents of the
washing-tub should never be thrown away; they are soluble,
and not easily evaporated, and may be spread on the land, or
thrown on the dung heap; when thrown in the ashpit they are
absorbed by the cinders and lost. It would be advantageous to
mix oily substances with soda or potash, before committing to
the soil; if there is much lime in the soil, it is apt to form an
insoluble soap between the oil and lime, while the other with
the soda and potash is soluble. We see hence the benefits of
the scourings from woollen manufactories; they consist in the
oil and alkalies of the soap and wool, and the urine used in such
processes; it has been used in this quarter with great effect.
Hair, wool, and skin, from tanyards and curriers’ works, contain
gelatine, albumen, and other principles, similar to those in bones,
which have already been treated of; the oil used by the latter
will be beneficial, the tannin and lime of the former detrimental.
Bones are best unboiled, boiling removes much of the gelatine
and nitzogen. Horn contains more animal matter than bones,
and is similar; the parings of horses’ hoofs are apt to contain
filings of iron, which are prejudicial, as they oxidate. Blood
contains most of the animal constituents, and must be valuable;
the colouring matter is supposed to be mostly different from
iron. The uses of the waste of glue manufactories we have
already quoted from Dr. Liebig. Of the refuse of other manu-
factories the operation may be known, when we get a know-
ledge of their contents. Rape cake contains vegetable matter,
holding nitrogen in a state of decay, and oil; if potash, or
ashes of small branches and leaves of plants, were mixed, they
would render the oil soluble, and retain any carbonic acid or

142 - Observations on Liebio’s * Organic Chemistry.”

ammonia given off. Linseed cake is similar. Malt dust, the
refuse of the sprung radicles, contains vegetable matter, mostly
sugar, a highly concentrated food, and may be diluted. Peat
may increase the quantity of manure largely, if fermented with
hot fermenting stable dung. Quicklime will commence de-
composition in it, but will not carry it on so well, and absorbs
the carbonic acid. Refuse of herrings and other fish contains
soft animal substances and small bones, and decay proceeds very
fast; it also cortains a good deal of oiJ, and potash or wood
ashes in powder should be added to make the oil soluble. ‘The
small branches and leaves contain most alkali, and are fittest for
ashes, which should be burnt and reduced to powder. As the
soft animal matters are easily soluble, they should be mixed with
earth to absorb. ‘The virtues of night soil, human faeces, and
its powerful fertilising effects, have been already pointed out;
also of urine. According to Berzelius, there is more than 10
per cent of vegetable, animal, and extractive matter in human
feeces, besides salt 1:2 per cent, and insoluble matter 14°7: water
73:3. There is much loss in those manures, by being mixed
with large spongy absorbing cinders from domestic fires ; these
should be sifted to fine powder, or kept by themselves: there is
much more loss in this way than is generally known. As there
is generally sulphur in mineral coal, the powder is likely to con-
tain carbonates and sulphates of potash, and perhaps lime. The
dung of swine is allowed to be as good as dairy or stable
manure, if not better, when bedded with straw; but there is great
loss in this manure from being mixed with coal ashes, and the
swine bedded with sawdust from fir-wood. ‘This will keep for
years without becoming soluble; the want of oxygen in the resin,
to carry on putrefaction, is the cause. It would bea great profit
to pay the people for the sawdust, to keep the manure by itself;
it does much harm by absorption, in place of good. The dung
of domestic fowls, and that of rabbits, sheep, &c., are all allowed
to be very strong. Ido not recollect any particular analysis of
these: they ferment readily, and should be mixed with other
substances if kept long.

Mild lime is valuable in soils, as retaining water, keeping
open, and increasing heat; quicklime, as tending to commence
decay in undecomposed substances. In some soils with a
superabundance of carbonic and other acids it will be useful
to neutralise these, but it may do harm where there is little
organic matter; mild lime would be best there. Lime is said
to be most valuable when united to humic acid. The value of
this might be tested by mixing moss water with quicklime.
There is humic acid in all moss water; and, though in small
quantity, gs'55 part, humate of lime would be formed. From

2500
Sir H. Davy’s experiments in mixing quicklime and tanners’

Observations on Liebig’s ** Organic Chemistry.” 143

bark, it would appear that humate of lime was then formed. Dr.
Madden (Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, No. xlv., p. 90. and
91.) makes its components 28 of lime to 3183 of humic acid ;
and humic acid contains 58 per cent of carbon: he thinks
humate of lime is gradually formed in the soil. Dr. Liebig is
of a contrary opinion. It will depend partly on whether the
humic acid has more affinity for lime than the carbonic acid.
Carbonate of lime is reckoned insoluble in water; humate of
lime, Dr. Liebig says, is no more soluble than the acid. It
would appear, also, he thinks, that humate of potash and soda is
not more soluble, which differs from most other combinations
of potash and soda; they generally form more soluble sub-
stances with the acids than before neutralisation : it would appear
that Dr. Madden thinks them more soluble. Some future
analysis may give more certainty on these points, and experi-
ments might be made on quicklime and moss water. As the
acid is only 355 part of the water, and 1 part only of lime
combines with between 11 and 12 parts of the acid, much lime
will not be needed in the process; and, after being some time
mixed, the water may be evaporated: any humate of lime
formed will be of a brown colour. Lime, in its caustic or quick
state, is soluble in water, and, Sir H. Davy says, poisonous.
Being a substance not generally assimilated in the plant, it will
be poisonous if in excess; so are soapsuds, though a manure ;
and so were sugar and starch, when Sir H. Davy applied them in
a concentrated state. But great quantities of lime-water are
applied regularly by gardeners to kill vermin; it is reckoned
the least hurtful to plants of all the substances employed to kill
insects: I have used ii in great quantity, and never saw it kill
a plant yet. Sir H. Davy says, limestone containing magnesia
is hurtful, because the magnesia after burning does not regain
its carbonic acid so quickly as the lime, and remains longer in
a caustic soluble state; the lime regaining its carbonic acid
quickly is the reason, he says, why the caustic soluble lime does
not so often do harm, as it is neutralised before reaching the
fibres when put on in small quantities of lime-water, or when
washed slowly into the scil by rain. Magnesian limestone, he
says, is generally brown or pale yellow. When vitriol is poured
on lime, sulphate of lime, or gypsum, is formed, which, as before
stated, is valuable as a manure. Vitriolic matter is found in
peat soils; Some minerals contain a good deal of sulphur.
Gypsum and sulphate of potash are formed where sulphuric
acid and these bases are found; and clover, being fond of sul-
phate of lime, is found to spring, as it were, naturally in such
soils. Clover is said to assimilate sulphate of lime as a con-
stituent. Soda in the state of sea salt is soluble, but acts as a
poison when taken in any quantity. Sir H. Davy thinks it may

144 Odservations on Liebig’s “ Organic Chemistry.”

be deprived of its chlorine by degrees, if mixed with water
containing oxygen; and it may thus, gradually, come to be
bene acini in a soil: to some plants it is useful as forming a con-
stituent. Dr. Madden says it sometimes, in a moist state, acts
on the lime in the soil, forming muriate of lime and carbonate
of soda; but is apt to resume its original form again. Nitrate
of soda is formed largely, by natural processes, on the surface of

the soil in Peru, &c.; and nitrate of potash (saltpetre) in the”

same way in India; and both are now much used as manures.
Heat is necessary in forming nitric acid, and a basis of lime;
it is, therefore, most readily formed in warm climates, and unites
to the bases of potash and soda according as they are found in
the soil. Nitrate of lime is also generally found mixed with
these salts. They form an article of commerce from warm
countries, and are manufactured in France and other places
in beds in the open air. In some trials recently made by Archi-
bald Hamilton, Esq., of Carcluie, (to whom this county, and
agriculture in general, are so much indebted for setting an
example i in improvements) on his estates at Roselle, near Ayr,
both substances appear to have succeeded well. On fields in
which these salts were sprinkled, at the rate of 14 cwt. per acre,
while parts of the same fields were sprinkled with common salt,
and part left without any application of salts, the increase of pro-
duce where the nitrates were sown was astonishing on the grass of
pasture, and the straw and grain of wheat and oats; turnips,
potatoes, and most other farm produce, were also benefited: the
common salt produced no effect. ‘The benefits must have arisen
from the nitrogen supplied to form ammonia, and the solvent
power of the bases, if returned. In parts of the fields where
the oxides of iron abounded (as stated at the time in the dyr
Advertiser) no benefit was derived. From the great affinity of the
protoxide of iron for salts, nitrate of iron would be formed, by
the iron separating the nitric acid from the potash and soda.

Dr. ‘Thomson says, when the protoxide gets more oxygen from
the air, it forms peroxide, and the acid is set free: the nitric
acid would thus likely be lost in the air, and the good effects of
its nitrogen never felt. From the great affinity between iron
and the acids, it is very hurtful, and, if sulphate of iron is
formed, poisonous. Carbonate of lime (chalk, or mild lime)

converts the iron into carbonate of iron, and the sulphate of

iron into sulphate of lime. ‘The saits of iron are so susceptible

of change, that their bad effects may not be always felt in the same
way. Oxides of iron exist in all soils, and are not detrimental
till their quantity, giving the subsoil a red and glistening ap-

pearance, shows they are in excess. Being the most general

colouring matter, they are very prejudicial to the colours of

fine tulips and other flowers, when in excess. Most ditches, if

Observations on Liebio’s * Organic Chemistry.” 145
S § JY

they run far through clayey or mossy soil, contain a great deal,
as may be seen from the colour of the water; and the scour-
ings of such ditches are very improper in composts for fine
flowers. Coal tar, Sir Humphry Davy says, contains a good
deal of carbonate and acetate of ammonia, and should be useful.
Soot, he says, likewise contains a good deal of carbonate of am-
monia, also an empyreumatic oil. The carbon of the coal is also
in a state of flocculent powder, fitted for absorption and decom-
position; and the good effects of strewing it on soil in wet
weather, when it may be washed into the ground and yield both
carbon and ammonia, are well known. ‘The quantity of car-
bonate of ammonia in any of these substances may be guessed
at by the pungency of the smell given off, when diluted in
water, and mixed with quicklime.

I have now gone through the most of the substances used
as manures, and given the different views that may be taken of
their action, as far as in my power. It should be recollected,
also, that all bulk is not produce in the sense of food, much of it
is water; but it is not always even weight, and excitement may
expand the tissue without a corresponding deposit. of food being
made in the tissue. From the extensive views of the professor
on the subject of nitrogen, it would seem of immense use, both
in stimulating and assisting the actions of vitality and chemical
force ; and is also, when assimilated, a great cause of the nu-
tritive condition of the food that plants yield to animals.

’ The whole of Part I, the practical part of the work before
us, has now been considered. Ihave given, as well as in my
power in a single essay, a condensed view of the professor’s
opinions ; every page, however, contains a mass of information
and reasoning which cannot be comprised in so small a compass ;
and I would earnestly advise all practical men, and all interested
in cultivation, to have recourse to the book itself and think for
themselves. The subject is vastly important, and we cannot esti-
mate how much may be added to the produce of our fields by
_proceeding on correct principles. ‘Though the information to be
got from the work is immense, yet I think practice would have
enabled the professor to modify many of the inferences deduced
therefrom; and, while giving a condensed view of his opinions,
I have throughout interspersed remarks of my own. I-have
brought practice to bear on theory as well as I could; and
wherever my practical brethren differ from me, I hope they
will come freely forward; it is the collision of opinions only
that can enable us to arrive at the truth. We should divest
ourselves of prejudice, and sift our own opinions as well as those
of others, or we will be apt to endeavour to make facts bend to
preconceived theories, to the prejudice of truth. We should not
give up the point till convinced, but we should not raise obstacles

1841.—III. 3d Ser, L

146 Gardening in the United States.

to conviction. We should differ from one another whenever in
our power, not from the love of contention, but to endeavour to
establish truth.

The second Part is a masterpiece of condensed reasoning on
chemical transformations, showing the difficulties attending on
attempts to arrive at a correct analysis of organic substances,
from their compound complicated nature; the necessity of ni-
trogen in the nature of the yeast formed in all fermentation, also
the difference between fermentation and putrefaction; the dif-
ference between eremacausis requiring a constant supply of
oxgyen, and putrefaction which does not; the nature of the
vinous fermentation, showing the best means of preserving the
greatest quantity of alcohol, ne strenvth of beer and wine, by
the degree of temperature, &c., maintained; the nature of the
decay of woody fibre and mouldering bodies, pointing out the
results that take place; the nature of poisons, contagion, and
miasms, and their mode of action. ‘The subject is itself con-
densed, and a proper idea of it can only be got from the work:
it is interesting and important to many descriptions of persons
besides the cultivators of the soil.

Kilmarnock, Jan. 23. 1841.

Art. II. Additional Notes on the Progress of Gardening in the
United States. By A. J. Downine, Esq.

In my notes to you on the progress of gardening in the United
States (Vol. for 1840, p. 642.), I accidentally omitted any
allusion to the taste for cemeteries or rural burial-grounds
which has lately sprung up among us. Some of these are ex-
ceedingly beautiful, displaying much of the beauty of landscape-
gardening in the natural style. Mount Auburn, near Boston,
is one of the finest examples, and has been pronounced by good
judges superior in many respects to the celebrated Pére la Chaise.
The area embraced is about seventy acres, and its characteristic
beauty consists in the very great natural variety of the surface,
clothed with a profusion of fine trees of indigenous growth.
Open smooth glades are followed by shady and secluded dingles,
and these by wild and picturesque hills, all so rapidly presenting
themselves in succession, and so ingeniously displayed by wind-
ing and irregular carriage roads and footpaths, that the whole
appears two or three times as large as it really is. There are a
great number of elegant monuments in marble and granite, in the
form of columns, obelisks, sarcophagi, &c., some of them
highly elegant, and a few imported from Italy at very large cost.
Portions of the place exhibit all the floral beauty of highly kept
pleasure-grounds, while other parts have all the wildness of rude
nature. It is a favourite resort of the citizens of Boston, and

Comparative Temperature of different Years. 147

one can hardly conceive a more lovely place of repose for the
dead.

In the neighbourhood of New York, the Greenwood Cemetery
lately laid out for the purpose bids fair to eclipse Mount Auburn.
In size it is much larger, and if possible exceeds it in the diver-
sity of surface, and especially in the grandeur of the views.
Every advantage has been taken of the undulation of surface,
and the fine groups, masses, and thickets of trees, in arranging
the walks; and there can be no doubt, when this cemetery is com-
pleted, it will be one of the most unique in the world.

Laurel Hill, about two miles from the city, is the boast of the
Philadelphians. Instead of having been formed upon a picturesque
natural surface, covered with natural forest trees, this cemetery
was formerly an elegant country residence, bordering on the
Schuylkill river, and displaying a kind of gardenesque beauty
in the trees, shrubs, &c. Since the grounds have been applied
to the purpose of burial, a pretty entrance gate and cottage for
the superintendant, and also a neat Gothic chapel, have been
built. There are innumerable monuments tastefully disposed in
various parts of the place, and many of the small enclosures
surrounding these are filled with the most beautiful flowering
shrubs and plants. The variety of China and Noisette roses in
particular is very great ; and these, as well as many rare exotics,
are trained and kept with the greatest care.

Beside these three principal cemeteries, there are at least a
dozen others in progress in the neighbourhood of other cities.
It is remarkable that these cemeteries are the first really elegant
public gardens or promenades formed in this country. In point
of design, keeping, and in so far as respects the variety of rare
flowering shrubs and plants introduced, they are much superior
to the majority of country residences here, and may therefore be
considered as likely to affect in a very considerable degree the
general taste for laying out and embellishing grounds. Hun-
dreds of the citizens who ramble through them form perhaps
their first acquaintance with many species of plants there, and
apply the taste thus acquired to the improvement of their own
gardens.

Botanic Garden and Nurseries, Newburgh,

near New York, Nov. 29. 1840.

Art. III. On the comparative Temperature of different Years, and
ats Influence on Vegetation. By N. M. T.

WE generally talk of hot years and cold years, as if in these

respects years materially differed from each other: but this is

not the case, as it appears from actual observation that the
L 2

148 Comparative Temperature of different Years,

average temperature of London is 50°4°, and that the hottest or
coldest seasons we experience do not mater ially affect this
average, seldom causing it to vary even half a degree. And when
‘we consider that it is “nearly impossible to ascertain correctly
the actual amount of temperature during a season, we may
almost conclude that in this respect years are invariably alike,
and that the (to us) incomprehensible machinery of the weather
is regulated with incontrovertible precision, the very air we
breathe ‘“ weighed as in a balance.” However, for every prac-
tical purpose, it will be sufficiently accurate to assume that, so far
as regards temperature, years are invariably alike, and that in a
given time we may depend upon receiving a stated quantity.

Now the heat of every season being alike, and the effects pro-
duced so different, the difference must proceed from the manner
of its application: and it is by narrowly observing that man-
ner, that we may glean useful information enabling us to ame-
liorate the condition of even external objects; but, these being
placed in circumstances in a great measure beyond our con-
trol, our operations must of necessity be limited. Therefore
it is to the manager of artificial climates, who has all the requi-
sites (light excepted) under his immediate control, that the
information gained from such observations must prove most ex-
tensively useful.

It requires no hesitation to say that hot summers are
most desirable. For the production of these, the preceding
winters must have been sufficiently severe to create a deficiency
that demands a proportionate excess to supply ; consequently
weather in extremes is most congenial to the vegetable produc-
tions of the earth, a fact that has not escaped even the unlet-
tered cultivator of the soil, who may often be heard deploring
the loss of hard (or as he terms them “ old-fashioned”) winters.
Mild winters, by an excess of temperature, preclude the possi-
bility of hot summers, and prove hurtful to vegetation, by ren-
dering winter and summer too much alike, depriving the plants
of absolute rest, by causing them to spend the time that ought
to be devoted to such a purpose in a semi-torpid state, the after
languid excitement consequent upon such a state of things being
insufficient perfectly to rouse them from their lethargic condition.
A state of absolute rest is a provision of nature that seems indis-

pensable to the well-being of many of the vegetable productions
of a rigorous climate, <herre existence in a atte of excitement
during fomce of severity is incompatible with their organisation ;
and, ‘whatever the necessity for its return at a stated period, the
term ofits duration is indefinite, varying considerably even when
left to nature, and can be shortened or altered almost at plea-
sure by the hand of art, as it requires only a proper degree of
heat to call their suspended powers into action at any time that

: and its Influence on Vegetation. 149
may be wished. When the natural period of rest is shortened by
artificial means, for the first time the call will not be so speedily
responded to as when the same means are uniformly persisted
in: but such is the adaptiveness of plants to the circumstances
in which they may be placed, such even in inanimate nature
the almost irresistible force of habit, that forced plants become
so inured to premature excitement, that they will at the usual
period make an effort at growth independent of circumstances ;
a fact obvious to the most superficial observer, and which ren-
ders the alternate resting and forcing, recommended by some,
one of the most unphysiological propositions ever suggested to
practice. :

The growing season of plants is thus changed at pleasure
in artificial climates by the application of a spring-like heat, and
much stress has justly been laid upon the manner in which it
ought to be applied, most considering extreme caution necessary,
advising to commence and proceed by almost imperceptible gra-
dations. In early forcing, when light is a desideratum, this ap-
pears necessary, but as the season advances this becomes ques-
tionable: if we may judge from the proceedings of Nature, she
often commences her most favourable seasons in a more abrupt
manner. A fine, genial, uninterrupted, consequently rapid spring,
is most favourable to the healthful developement of the organs of
plants ; a cold, ungenial, consequently protracted one, one of
the most unfavourable things that can happen: and the noble
trophies of Continental vegetation, where the transition from iron-
bound winter to luxurious spring seems but the magic transform-
ation of a day, exhibit none of the debility we attribute to the effect
of rapid excitement; considerations that render questionable the
very protracted spring applied to force plants generally, and
invite to further investigation. All this would lead to the con-
clusion, that all plants capable of being so treated ought to be
allowed a season of rest, and that a somewhat gradual application
of excitement to be uniformly increased is necessary until they
complete the object of their growth ; and it is also evident that
they ought to be enabled to do so, in the most unhesitating and
vigorous manner. Nevertheless, gentle forcing is a favourite term
and frequent practice with many, but surely it must be erroneous.
To imitate successfully a propitious season is the object of all
forcing: therefore the question simply is, whether by gentle
forcing we will imitate an unfavourable one, with all its slug-
gish concomitants, laxity of organisation and imperfect matu-
ration ;. or, by more decided measures, imitate one of the most
favourable character.

Thus far, with regard to the application of heat in arti-
ficial climates, while following the track pointed out by nature,

we have gone hand in hand with reason, and gardeners have
L 3

150 Comparative Temperature of different Years.

been complimented upon attempting to reconcile their prac-
tice to such a standard; but, in doing this, in many cases we
must abandon nature, as they are often irreconcilable, nature
being often most unreasonable, or reason most unnatural. As
an example in point, let us observe her mode of applying mois-
ture, which is often truly disproportionate to the heat: there are
sometimes months together intensely hot, without a single drop,
and that at a time when vegetables, according to our ideas,
reasonably demand a most liberal supply, and to withhold it to-
the same extent in artificial cases would prove inevitable destruc-
tion. Again, in the dreary dripping months of winter, nature
dreadfully outrages all the sage maxims of reason: plants then,
particularly deciduous ones in a dormant state, are reasonably
kept dry, while nature unsparingly drenches the leafless plain,
causing the inert and torpid objects of her bounteous care to
stand under such circumstances in an actual puddle, and their
after-success is often proportionate to the excess they may then
endure, which renders it probable that our caution is in part
unnecessary, perhaps injurious, and demands investigation.
Although cold winters produce a corresponding increase
of heat in summer, it does not altogether follow that such
summers will prove so favourable to external vegetation as we
could wish, the undeniably beneficial effects of warmth being
often rendered abortive by untoward circumstances. Sudden
changes from heat to cold are the most frequent and most in-
jurious of these, often in a few hours counteracting the genial
influence of months, and crushing beyond all hope of remedy
the well-grounded prospects of the hapless cultivator; the heat
is also occasionally unseasonable or misplaced, of which last
year affords a memorable example. So far as regards the mass
of things, all this is in great measure uncontrollable: but the
cultivator in an artificial climate is altogether independent of
such casualties, they cannot possibly affect him, but by accident
or neglect; but, however secure he may feel, such occurrences
afford .a:useful lesson, as, by marking their baneful effects upon
external objects, he will be prompted to increased vigilance,
lest by any means similar vicissitudes should occur in any de-
partment beneath his care, and he will do well to bear in mind
the far more susceptible nature of the objects fostered there.
Exotics of annual growth, bulbs, or any other sorts that are
taken up, preserved during winter, and returned to the earth at a
proper season, will do best in seasons most favourable to such as
are indigenous ; but it is not a little curious to observe, that, to
such as-are turned out permanently, seasons most favourable to
natives must prove most destructive, and unfavourable seasons
must be so far favourable to them, that they will be able at least
to prolong their existence : and this must ever prove the case,

Corbett’s Mode of Heating. 151

unless some means of covering is devised, to enable them to bear
the severity necessary to produce a favourable season ; they will
then, in common with all others, partake of its benefits. Accli-
mating plants is now set down as a chimera. This decision is
unwarranted and impolitic, impeding the progress of farther en-
quiry, by deterring those who may be inclined to dispute its ac-
curacy from making any further attempt. That we cannot do
much, is no reason why we should not do what little is in our
-power. But, in the face of such a declaration, many plants now
turned out and doing well would not, fresh imported, exist a
month. Many that have been frequently lost to the country, or
preserved with the greatest difficulty in a stunted existence, have,
now that they are become reconciled to the climate, assumed the
luxuriance of weeds. Their natures may remain unchanged, I
admit, not so their habits: these are so far changed, that they
are brought to respect our seasons, a point of the greatest im-
portance gained, which is indispensable; a native placed in cir-
cumstances which cause it to neglect this, is equally susceptible
of injury. If plants, in their natures, are immutable, no treat-
ment can render them more tender, and cultivation has, I think,
in some instances done this.
Folkstone, Jan. 16. 1841.

Art. 1V. On Mr. Corbett’s Mode of Heating by the Circulation of
Hot Water in open Gutters. By J. R..

I HAVE never seen Mr. Corbett’s plan of heating in operation ;
but from the description of it, by himself and others, it appears
to be, for many purposes, a very good one, and falls in with my
notions about providing plenty of moisture in our artificial
climates. For Orchideze, melons, and cucumbers, I should
think it excellent; for stove plants, at certain seasons, equally
so; but, for other garden purposes, its utility must depend upon
the power of completely covering the troughs, and regulating
the escape of moisture.

The idea of applying it to dwellings is so: perfectly absurd,
that such a suggestion in Mr. Corbett’s prospectus led me to
think his whole scheme chimerical, and even to doubt whether
he had ever tried it in any form. For greenhouses, as well as
for forcing grapes and pines, it would require two or three years”
experience to satisfy me of its advantages; especially for the
two latter purposes. Heat is often employed in gardens more
to dry than to warm buildings; as, in greenhouses and late
vineries, during damp weather in autumn. It is also necessary
to obtain dry heat to ripen the wood of all forced plants; and,

though I have no experience of pines, I do not imagine they
L 4

152 Increasing Plants by Cultings, 5c.

will ripen to be good for anything, except at a high temperature
and pretty dry atmosphere. In all these cases, then, it is abso-
lutely necessary to prevent the escape of moisture from the
troughs. If this can be done, the only remaining objection is
the difficulty and inconvenience of obtaining a perfect level for
the troughs.

Without wishing to rob Mr. Corbett of the credit due to his
ingenuity, I must observe that the system he adopts is not alto-
gether so new as he supposes; but is, in fact, a return, in some
degree, to the form of the earliest hot-water apparatus erected
in this country. All of these consisted partly of pipes, and
partly of open cisterns, on the same level, having covers to
regulate the escape of moisture. Such an apparatus is described
and figured in vol. vii. of the Hort. Trans., p. 203., by Mr.
Whale, gardener to Anthony Bacon, Esq., in whose garden the
apparatus was erected ; and I have seen many similar apparatus
of the same date. Mr. Corbett’s plan converts a larger portion,
or the whole, of the circuit into open cisterns, or troughs; which,
for many kinds of plants, and for forcing at certain seasons, is
very desirable ; but its efficiency must depend upon the power
of withholding moisture at will, as even Orchideze require a
season of rest and drought.

Surrey, January, 1841.

P.S.— Why the old plan of open cisterns has been aban-
doned, and close pipes preferred, I know not; but suspect that
the greater facility of laying the pipes in different situations,
and at different levels, has led to the change.

Art. V. On increasing Plants by Cuttings, &c., by the Use of
Charcoal. By Professor Zuccarinr of Munich. (Translated
from the “ Garten Zeitung,” by J. L.)

I rake this opportunity of laying before the friends of gardening
a number of experiments, which, though they have been very
recently made, justify in their results our warmest expectations.
They refer to a method, new in this neighbourhood at least, of
increasing plants by shoots, leaves and parts of leaves, calyces,
&c., by inserting them in charcoal dust; and this practice has
been followed by the best consequences, even with those plants
that seldom or never make roots in the usual way of treatment.
Last spring an industrious and clever assistant in the Royal
Botanic Garden here, M. Lucas of Erfurt, discovered that
several plants in -the hothouse that were plunged in charcoal
ashes, or the refuse of charcoal, showed an extraordinary vigour
of growth as soon as they had pushed their roots through the

by the Use of Charcoal. 153.

holes in the bottom of the pots into this ‘under stratum. Among
other plants, this was strikingly the case with peireskias, casua-
rinas, and Thunbérgia alata; all of which, without any artificial
fecundation, ripened a quantity of seed, &c. M. Lucas very
properly thought it necessary to follow up this chance discovery
in a number of experiments, by adding a proportion of charcoal
powder to the usual mixed soil in which plants were already
rooted, and also by using it pure for cuttings instead of sand.

About the middle of July he communicated to me the result
of his experiments, and I thought the importance of the case
required that I should urge him to make greater and more
varied observations. Accordingly, plants from many different
families were chosen, cuttings made from twigs, leaves, parts of
leaves, &c., and a day-book kept of the results. The time is
too short to allow of a perfect account of all that took place to
be given; and circumstances did not allow of all due attention
being paid to the experiments at that busy time of the year.
Yet I think that the results already attained give sufficient proof
of the advantages of this method. When cut leaves of the
mimosas and zamias, encephalartos, and agave, and leaf-bundles of
Pinus excélsa, &c., form a callus in a short time, from which
they put forth strong roots; when cuttings of other plants root
and grow in a much shorter time, and more certainly, than by
any other method; I think it high time to lay the case open to
the approval of competent judges. I shall refrain from saying
anything of the cause of charcoal’s stimulating the growth.

With respect to increasing plants by leaves and parts of
leaves, I must mention that those leaves are most suitable for
the purpose that have strong prominent veins. In parts of
leaves, for example, the callosities are always formed at the cut
ends of the veins, so that, according to the position and direction
of the latter, a leaf will form a callosity at the same time from
the central vein, and from the second, fourth, &c., side veins.
These callosities often attain the size of a large pea before put-
ting out roots, and form a bud which continues to grow as a
separate plant. It is of advantage in many cases, as soon as the
growth of the callosity is sufficiently advanced, to remove the
eutting from the charcoal into a proper sort of mould; and, by
this means, the little knob being able to provide its own nourish-
ment will prevent the untimely exhaustion of the parent leaf.
If this precaution is delayed, an entire stoppage takes place in
the growth ; the knob produces neither roots nor buds, and dies ;
because the parent leaf cannot yield any more nourishment, and
the charcoal appears to have a preserving and stimulating rather
than a nourishing quality.

I leave it now to M. Lucas himself to give the experiments
hitherto made.

154 Increasing Plants by Cuttings, 5c.

Result of the Experiments made by the Application of Charcoal
for the Propagation of Plants by Cuttings, §c. By M. G.
Lucas, Royal Botanic Gardens, Munich.

In laying my experiments on this subject before the public, I
only regret, that, owing to the shortness of the time, they are
not more full and perfect. It is my earnest endeavour to pursue
this subject further, and to lay my yet uncertain and future
observations before the lovers of plants. The experiments
hitherto made are divided into those made with cuttings, and
those with parts of leaves, and other parts of plants. I have
arranged them according to the length of time the different
plants took to show their capability of rooting. As many ex-
periments took place in autumn, and the specimens could not
always be selected to correspond in size, there is no great cer-
tainty to be attached to it, but I know of no better way of
enumerating them. At the end I thought it necessary to give a
list of those sorts of plants which have not succeeded in being
propagated in charcoal. I have only to beg further, that my
communication may be looked upon, by all lovers and friends of
gardening, only as a zealous endeavour to do my utmost in my
calling, and may be received accordingly.

A division of the hothouses ef the botanical garden here con-
tains a bed which is warmed by means of a tube of sheet iron,
instead of tan. ‘This bed is filled with charcoal cinders about
three quarters of a foot high, and is chiefly used for keeping
young and tender plants. ‘These cinders are for no other pur-
pose but to prevent the mould on plants, a disease which so
frequently occurs in tan-beds; and they answer the purpose per-
fectly well, for, besides preventing mould, they harbour neither
worms nor woodlice. At the front and warmest part of this bed,
where the pipe enters, are suspended several boxes with glazed
sashes as covers. In these boxes plants are propagated through-
out the year, partly in pots and partly in mould. In one of these
poxes I made experiments in rooting cuttings in charcoal cinders.
I must also mention that this bed had a slight fire-heat through-
out the summer ; it was so slight, however, that it had no effect
but on the front part devoted to the cuttings. The charcoal used
in these experiments is fir charcoal, the refuse of which, being
too fine to be burnt, may be had in quantities from smithies and
gentlemen’s houses without payment. It is sifted through a
coarse earth sieve, to separate the large pieces that are often
found in it, and which would only be troublesome, and it is then
used without further preparation; it ought to be observed, how-
ever, that these ashes are more suitable, and answer the pur-
pose better, when they have been for some months exposed to
the influence of the air and weather. In the propagating box it
is laid 4 in. thick over the bottom, as a deeper layer would pre-

by the Use of Charcoal. 155

vent the access of heat, charcoal, as it is well known, being a
very bad conductor of heat.

1. Cuttings of the following species of plants planted in char-
coal rooted : —

In from 8 to 14 days, Zuphdrbza falgens, £. fastuosa, H. picta,
Héchtza stenopétala Klotzsch, Ipomce‘a ptirga, I. enotherdides,
I. supérba, Hakea microcérpa, Lobélza picta, Conradza lasi-
antha guccar., Thunbérgia alata, Cecropza palmata, C. peltata,
Leycestérza formosa, Strobilanthes Sabinz, Ficus religidsa, F.
péndula, Begonia fagifolia, B. castaneifolia, B. sanguinea, B.
bulbifera, B. dipétala, &c., Tropz‘olum majus fl. pl. In the
Cacti family, cuttings planted in charcoal were particularly suc-
cessful. Of some hundred species that had been dried for some
days previously in the air, about twenty succeeded perfectly ;
among these were Kchinocactus pruinosa, E. phyllacantha,
Melocactus mammillarizeformis, Mammillaria macrothéle, M.
uberiformis, &c., many of them from 13 to 2 or 3 in. in diameter.
Cereus, Rhipsalis, and Epipb¥llum made no distinction in root-
ing; besides, in this short space of time, the roots of many species
had grown 6 in. long, and the rooting was in general much more
perfect than is usually the case. Other succulent plants, such
as Mesembryanthemum, Rochea, Cotylédon, &c., rooted as
quickly.

In from a fortnight to three weeks: Piper nigrum, Chiocécca
racemosa, Amyris Unanuie, Baddlea madagascariensis, A’ster
tomentosus, Phyllanthus multiflorus, Capparis longifolia, C.
frondosa, Alnus denticulata, 4. barbata, U'lex provincialis,
Salvia semiatrata Zuccar., Mimosa Houstonz, Murraya exética,
Barlérza hystrix, O’xalis mandioccdna, Clerodéndron infortu-
natum, -Anacampseros filamentosa, Solanum xanthocdnthum
Mart., Cordyline Eschscholtzaéna.

In from three to four weeks: Chamedorea elatior, Jacquinza
mexicana, Céstrum verbascifolium, Croton adenophylla, Pan-
danus amaryllidifolius, Carludovicéa palmata, Dracze‘na humilis,
D. marginata, Hernandza ovigera.

In about six weeks: Calamus Draco, Dombéya acerifolia.

In two months: Pandanus utilis. Both cuttings that were
planted put forth thick side roots.

Some apology may be requisite for having introduced in this
list many plants in most cases easy to strike; but this appeared
to me to be necessary, partly on account of explicitness, and
partly because opinions and experience vary as to plants being
easy or difficult to root, and also because some of them made
extraordinarily strong roots.

There is no doubt that many experiments did not succeed, but
their number is so small in comparison with those that did, that
no blame can be attached to this new method, when we consider

156 Increasing Plants by Cuttings, §c.

on how many circumstances the growth of a cutting depends. I
did not succeed in rooting in this way some ericas and bigno- —
nias, Plumiérza angustifolia, Céreus colimna Trajanz, Vanguiéra
spec. from Brazil, Spondias dilcis, Illicium anisatum, Psoralea
odoratissima, A’ster argophyllus, and some other plants, in which
the cause of failure evidently !ay in particular or outwardly un-
favourable circumstances, which it was as impossible to remedy
as it was to make them take root, such as sickly or old shoots,
wet and consequent decay.

2. Leaves and parts of leaves of the following plants were
rooted in charcoal.

It appears very remarkable to me that the peripherous forms
of plants should display an extraordinary aptitude and _ inclina-
tion to form roots, so much so that halt-leaves of Peiréskza, Po-
lianthes mexicana Zuccar., and leaves of Huphorbia fastuosa in a
short time filled their pots so full of roots that they were obliged
to be repotted.

In from eight to fourteen days: leaves of Cecropza palmata,
O’xalis mandioccana, O. purpurea, Euphorbza fastudsa, Cycla-
men indicum, Lophospérmum scandens, Martynza craniolaria,
Begonia monoptera, B. bulbifera, Ipomce'a supérba, I. spec. e
Corcovado, Mesembryanthemum tigrinum, Gésnera latifolia, G.
atrosanguinea, Sinningza guttata, Piper peireskzefolivm, all sorts
of Gloxinza, even calyces and mere flower stems ; pieces of leaves
of Convoélvulus Batdtas, Peiréskza grandifolia, Polianthes mexi-
cana, and warts of the large-warted mammillaria.

In three weeks: the tops of the leaves of Agave americana fol.
var., leaves of Jacardnda brasiliénsis, bundles of leaves of Pi-
nus excélsa, leaves of Mimosa Hofstonz, and Cypérus vaginatus.

In five weeks, whole and half-cut folioles of Encephalartos
caffer and Zamia integrifolia produced a number of roots from
the surface of the cuts.

Many leaves have not yet made rocts, but for a considerable
time have formed callosities, such as Zatrus nitida, Bignonia
Telfairze, Carolinea princeps, Ardisize, Gardénie, Adansonza
digitata, Dracee‘na, &c. As experiments that did not succeed,
we may mention portions of the leaves of Amaryllis and Crinum,
of ferns, of tropical Orchidez, of Dasylirion and Héchtia, Til-
landsza, Pandanus, Phormium ténax, of tropical tuberous-rooted
Aroidez, old leaves of the Agave, and some others which, partly
through rotting by wet, or other mischances, were prevented
from growing.

It is to be wished, that, roused by this hint, many experiments
may be tried with charcoal ashes, as in most cases, when not
contrary to nature, I can guarantee success. I shall hereafter
take the opportunity of laying before the public, as far as my
experience goes, the good effects of charcoal as a cure for sick

Gardening as an Art of Design and Taste. 157

plants, and how valuable it is when mixed with different sorts of
earth for the growth of plants.
Munich, Feb. 1840.

[The theory of M. Lucas’s experiments, by Dr. Buchner,
will be given in our next Number. ]

Art. VI. On Gardening as an Ari of Design and Taste. By the
late Tuomas Hope, Esq.

[Tue following essay was published upwards of twenty years
ago, first in a work entitled the Review of Art, now very scarce,
and subsequently in Hoffland’s Description of White Knights,
now also very scarce, and not to be had under two guineas a
copy. ‘The essay has been much admired, but, from the nature
of the works in which it was published, never much read by
those to whom it is calculated to be of most use, viz. country
gentlemen and their gardeners. We intended some years ago
to republish the essay in the Gardener’s Magazine ; and the late
Mr. Hope, to whom we applied for permission to do so, very
kindly promised to revise the proofs: but, unfortunately, we
neglected to take advantage of his kind offer at the time, and

before we could do so Mr. Hope died. ]

Ir has been much the fashion of late years, in this country, to
commend no feature in that production of human industry, a
garden, which should not appear as if still remaining the mere
spontaneous work of unassisted nature. It is become a very
general custom indiscriminately to condemn, in the laying out of
grounds, every marked trace of the hands of man; and, above
all, every modification of intentional and professed symmetry.

Perhaps a more methodical enquiry than has hitherto been
made into the purposes for which a garden has been destined,
and into the character which, in conformity with these purposes,
it ought to display, might have prevented its form and embel-
lishments from being subjected to rules so confined and so
narrow.

What was, in the earliest times, the origin of the garden ?
The wish that certain esculent plants and fruits which, in the
waste field and the wide forest, are scattered at great distances
in small quantities, intermixed with useless vegetables and fruits,
precarious in their appearance and stinted in their growth,
difficult to collect, and scarce worth the gathering, might, in a
nearer, a smaller, and a more accessible spot, be better secured,
more abundantly produced, and kept clearer of the noxious
herbs and weeds which destroy their nutriment and impede
their growth. This was, in its origin, the sole object of the
entire garden; this, to the present hour, continues to be the

158 Gardening as an Art of Design and Taste.

principal purpose of that essential portion of the garden devoted
to the uses of the kitchen and the table.

In these parts of the garden, then, which are destined
immediately for the gratification, not of the eye, but merely
of the palate, it is only in proportion as we more fully deviate
from the desultory and confused dispositions of simple nature, —
firstly, by separating the different species of esculent plants, not
only from their useless neighbours, but from each other ; and,
secondly, by confining the vegetables thus classed in those
symmetric and measured compartments which enable us with
greater ease to discover, to approach, and to improve each
different species in the precise way most congenial to its peculiar
requisites, — that we more fully attain that first of intellectual
beauties, which, in every production, whether of nature or of
art, resides in the exact correspondence between the end we
purpose and the means we employ. Nay, if it be true that
contrast and variety of colours and of forms are among the
most essential ingredients of visible beauty, we may say that
even this species of sensible charm is greatly increased in the
aspect of a country, by the opposition to the more widely diffused
but more vague shades and outlines of the unsymmetrised sur-
rounding landscape, offered by the more vivid hues and more
distinct forms of the gay mosaic work of nicely classed and
symmetrised vegetables which clothe these select spots.

Even where the general unadorned scenery is as bold and
majestic as in Switzerland, or as rich and luxuriafit as in Sicily,
the eye with rapture beholds the variety, and enjoys the relief,
from the vaster and sublimer features of rude nature, offered by
the professed art of a neat little patch of ground, whether field,
orchard, or garden, symmetrically distributed. It looks like a
small but rich gem, a topaz, an emerald, or a ruby, sparkling
amidst vast heaps of ruder ore; or rather like a rich carpet
spread out over a corner of the valley. It appears thus incon-
trovertible, that, in that part at least of the garden which is
immediately intended for utility, we incidentally produce not
only greater intellectual, but greater visible, beauty, by not con-
fining ourselves to the desultory forms of unguided nature, but
by admitting the more symmetric outlines of avowed art: and it
therefore only remains to be enquired, whether in that other and
different part of the artificial grounds in later times added to
the former, which is directly intended for beauty, and which we
therefore call the pleasure-grounds, we shall really produce
more beauty, intellectual or visible, or, in other words, more
pleasure to the mind or eye, by only employing the powers of
art in a covert and unavowed way, in still only preserving the
closest resemblance to the indeterminable and irregular forms of
mere nature; or by adhibiting her additional resourees in a more

Gardening as an Art of Design and Taste. 159

open and avowed manner, in contrasting these more indetermi-
nate and desultory features of pure nature with some of those
more determinate and compassed outlines which, indeed, on a
small scale, are already found in many of the spontaneous pro-
ductions of Nature herself, but which, on a more extended
plan, are only displayed in the works of art. I say, more
pleasure to the mind or eye; for the portion of the garden here
alluded to, no less than the one before mentioned, professes itself
to be a piece of ground wrested from Nature’s dominion by the
hand of man, for purposes to which nature alone was inadequate;
and thence, contending that there is the least necessity or pro-
priety in rendering this district appropriated by art a facsimile of
pure nature, independent of any consideration of superior beauty
which this imitation may offer to the eye or mind, and merely
because to form a garden we use materials supplied by nature,
such as air, water, earth, and vegetables, would be absurd in
the extreme. As well might we contend that every house built
of stone should resemble a cavern, and every coat made of wool
a sheepskin. Every production of human industry whatsoever
must, if we trace it to its origin, arise out of one or more
definite ingredients of pure nature; and unless, therefore, by
the same rule, every production of human industry whatsoever
be obliged everlastingly to continue wearing the less regular
forms of those peculiar objects of nature out of which it is
wrought, we cannot with more justice arraign gardens, in their
capacity as aggregates of mere natural substances and produc-
tions, for assuming the artificial forms of a terrace or a jet-d’eau,
an avenue or a quincunx, than we can condemn opera-dancers
and figurantes, in their capacity of compounds of natural limbs
and features, for exhibiting the artificial movements of the
minuet and the gavot, the entrechat and the pas-grave.

If then the strict resemblance to the desultory forms of
rude nature be not indispensably requisite in the artificial scenery
of pleasure-grounds, on account of any invariable reasons of
propriety or consistency inherent in the very essence of such
grounds, this resembiance of studious art to wild nature, in the
gardens that adorn our habitations, can only be more eligible
on account of some superior pleasure which it gives the eye and
mind, either-in consequence of certain general circumstances
connected with the very nature of all imitation, or only in con-
sequence of certain more restricted effects, solely and exclu-
sively produced by this peculiar species of imitation; namely,
of natural landscapes through artificial grounds.

Now, with regard to the former of these two considerations,
I allow that a faithful imitation, even of a deformed original, is
capable of affording great intellectual pleasure to the beholder,
provided that imitation, like those displayed in painting and

160 Gardening as an Art of Design and Taste.

sculpture, be produced through dint of materials or tools so
different from those of which is composed the original imitated,
as to evince in the imitator extraordinary ingenuity and powers.
But the imitation of a natural landscape, through means of the
very ingredients of all natural scenery, namely, air, earth, trees,
and water, (and which imitation will in general offer greater
truth in proportion as it is attained through greater neglect,)
cannot possess that merit which consists in the overcoming of
difficulties and the display of genius, unless indeed it be an
imitation of such a species of wild scenery as is totally foreign to
the genius of the locality in which it is produced; unless it con-
sists in substituting mountains for plains, waterfalls for puddles,
and precipices for flats; and in that case, on the contrary, the
attempt at imitation will become so arduous as to threaten ter-
minating in a total failure, by only offering, instead of a sublime
and improved resemblance, a most paltry and mean caricature.
Since then, in a garden, the imitation of the less*symmetric
arrangements of rude nature can afford little or no peculiar
gratification to the mind, in their sole capacity as imitations, the
question becomes restricted within a very narrow compass; and
all that remains to be enquired into is, whether, in that garden,
the exclusive admission of the mere unsymmetric forms of simple
nature, or their mixture with a certain proportion of the more
symmetric forms of professed art, will give more intense and
more varied pleasure to the eye. And, when thus stated, I
should think the question would be nearly answered in the same
way by every unprejudiced person. I should think it would be
denied by none, that, — if, on the one hand, the most irregular
habitation, still, through the very nature of its construction and
purposes, must ever necessarily remain most obviously sym-
metric and formal, if not in its whole, at least in its various
details of doors, windows, steps, entablatures, &c.; and if, on
the other hand, as I take it, all beauty consists in that contrast,
that variety, that distinctness of each of the different component
parts of a whole from the remaining parts, which render each
individually a relief to the remainder, combined with that har-
mony, that union of each of these different component parts of
that whole with the remaining parts, which render each a sup-
port to the remainder, and enable the eye and mind to glide over
and compass the whole with rapidity and ease, — fewer striking
features of beauty will be found in a garden where, from the very
threshold of the still ever symmetric mansion, one is launched in
the most abrupt manner into a scene wholly composed of the
most unsymmetric and desultory forms of mere nature, totally
out of character with those of that mansion, and where the
same species of irregular and indeterminate forms already pre-
vailing at the very centre extend without break or relief to the

Gardening as an Art of Design and Taste. 161

utmost boundaries of the grounds, than will be presented in
another garden, where the cluster of highly adorned and shel-
tered apartments that form the mansion, in the first instance,
shoot out, as it were, into certain more or less extended rami-
fications of arcades, porticoes, terraces, parterres, treillages, .
avenues, and other such still splendid embellishments of art,
calculated by their architectural and measured forms at once to
offer a striking and varied contrast with, and a dignified and
comfortable transition to, the more undulating and rural features
of the more extended, more distant, and more exposed boun-
daries ; before, in the second instance, through a still further
link, a still further continuance of this same gradation of hues
and forms, these limits of the private domain are again made in
their turn, by means of their less artificial and more desultory
appearance, to blend equally harmoniously, on the other side,
with the still ruder outlines of the property of the public at
large.

No doubt, that, among the very wildest scenes of unappro-
priated nature, there are some so grand, so magnificent, that no
art can vie with or can enhance their effect. Of this description
are the towering rock, the tremendous precipice, the roaring
cataract, even the dark, gloomy, impenetrable forest. Of such,
if we be fortunate enough to possess any specimens in the more
distant parts of our domain, let us take great care not to destroy
or to diminish the grandeur by paltry conceits or contrivances of
art. But even these are such features as, from certain conditions
unavoidably attendant on them, we would not wish to have per-
manently under our eyes and windows, or, even if we wished it,
could not transport. within the narrow precincts which imme-
diately surround the mansion. A gentleman’s country residence,
situated in the way it ought to be, for health, for convenience,
and for cheerfulness, can only have room in its vicinity for the
more concentrated beauties of art. In this narrow circle, if we
wish for variety, for contrast, and for brokenness of levels, we
can only seek it in arcades and in terraces, in steps, balustrades,
regular slopes, parapets, and such like; we cannot find space
for the rock and the precipice. Here, if we admire the fleeting
motion, the brilliant transparency, the soothing murmur, the
delightful coolness of the crystal stream, we must force it up
in an erect jet-d’eau, or hurl it down in an abrupt cascade; we
cannot admit so near us the winding torrent, dashed at wide
intervals from rock to rock. Here, if we desire to collect the
elegant forms, vivid colours, and varied fragrance of the choicest
shrubs and plants, whether exotics or only mere natives, oranges,
magnolias, and rhododendrons, or mere roses, and lilies, and
hyacinths, we still must confine them in the boxes, the pots, or

the beds of some sort of parterre; we cannot give them the
1841.—IJII, 3d Ser. ~ M

162 Gardening as an Art of Design and Taste.

appearance of spontaneously growing from amongst weeds and
briars. Here, in fine, if we have a mind to secure the cool
shade and the convenient shelter of lofty trees, we can only
plant an avenue, we cannot form a forest. And for what reason,
since we admire, even to an excess, symmetry of lines and dis-
position in that production of art called a house, we should
abhor these attributes in the same excess in that other avowed
production of art, the immediate appendage of the former, and
consequently the sharer in its purposes and character, namely,
the garden, I do not understand.

There is between the various divisions of the house and those
of the grounds this difference, that the first are more intended
for repose, and the latter for exercise, that the first are under
cover, and the latter exposed. ‘This difference should make a
corresponding difference in the nature of the materials, and in
the size and delicacy of the forms; but why it should occasion
on the one side an unqualified admission, and on the other as
unqualified an exclusion, of those attributes of symmetry and
correspondence of parts which may be equally produced in
coarser as in finer materials, on a vaster as on a smaller scale, I
cannot conceive. The outside of the house is exposed to the
elements as well as the grounds; and why, while columns are
thought invariably to look well at regular distances, trees
should be thought invariably to look ill in regular rows, is what
I cannot comprehend. Assuredly the difference is as great
between the eruptions of Etna or of any other volcano and
artificial fireworks, as it is between the falls of the Niagara or of
any other river and artificial waterworks. Why then, while
we gaze with admiration on a rocket, should we behold with
disgust a jet-d’eau? And why, while we are delighted with a
rain of fiery sparks, should we be displeased with a shower of

liquid diamonds issuing from a beautiful vase, and again col-

lected in as exquisite a basin? If the place be appropriate, if
the hues be vivid, if the outlines be elegant, if the objects be
varied and contrasted, in the name of meen how should, out
of all these partial elements of positive unmixed beauty, arise a
whole positively ugly? No, there can only arise a whole as
beautiful as the parts; and so those travellers who have not
allowed any narrow and exclusive theories to check or destroy
their spontaneous feelings, must own they have thought many of
the suspended gardens within Genoa and of the splendid villas
about Rome: so they have thought those striking oppositions of
the rarest marbles to the richest verdure; those mixtures of
statues, and vases, and balustrades, with cypresses, and pinasters,
and bays; those distant hills seen through the converging lines
of lengthened colonnades; those ranges of aloes and cactuses
growing out of vases of granite and of porphyry, scarce more

Gardening as an Art of Design and Taste. 163

symmetric by art than these plants are by nature; and finally,
all those other endless contrasts of regular and irregular forms,
every where each individually increasing its own charms, through
their contrast with those of the other ; exhibited in the countries
which we consider as the earliest schools where beauty be-
came an object of sedulous study.

But the truth is, that, in our remoter climes, we carry
every theory into the extreme. Once, that very symmetry and
correspondence of parts, of which a certain proportion ever has,
to all refined ages and nations, ancient and modern, appeared a
requisite feature of the more dressy and finished parts of the
pleasure-garden, prevailed in our English villas with so little
selection, and at the same time in such indiscreet profusion, as
not only rendered the different parts insipid and monotonous
with respect to each other, but the whole mass a most formal
unharmonious blotch with regard to the surrounding country.
Surfeited at last with symmetry carried to excess, we have
suddenly leaped into the other extreme. Dreading the faintest
trace of the ancient regularity of outline as much as we dread
the phantoms of those we once most loved, we have made our
country residences look dropped from the clouds in spots most
unfitted to receive them; and, at the expense, not only of all
beauty, but of all comfort, we have made the grounds appear as
much out of harmony, viewed in one direction with the mansion,
as they formerly were, viewed in the opposite direction with the
country at large. Through the total exclusion of all the variety,
the relief, the sharpness, which straight, or spherical, or angular,
or other determinate lines and forms might have given to un-
symmetric and serpentining forms and surfaces, we have, without
at all diminishing the appearance of art (which in a garden can
never be totally eradicated) only succeeded in rendering that art
of the most tame and monotonous description, like that languid
and formal blank verse which is equally divested of the force of
poetry and the facility cf prose. Nature, who, in her larger
productions, is content with exhibiting the more vague beauties
that derive from mere variety and play of hues and forms.
Nature herself, in her smaller and more elaborate, and, if I may
so call them, choicer bits of every different reign, superadds those
features of regular symmetry of colours and shapes, which not
only form a more striking contrast with the more desultory
modifications of her huger masses, but intrinsically in a smaller
space produce a greater effect than the former can display.
Examine the radii of the snow-spangle, the facettes of the
crystal, the petals of the flower, the seeds of the capsule; the
wings, the antennze, the rings, and the spots of the larva and the
butterfly ; nay, even in man and beast, the features of the face,

and the configuration of the eye; and we shall find in all these
M 2

164 Remarks on the Conifera,

more minute, more finished, and more centrical productions of
the mineral, the vegetable, and the animal kingdoms, reigns the
nicest symmetry of outline and correspondence of parts. And
if Art, which can only be founded upon, only spring out of
Nature, if Art, I say, should ever only be considered as the
further developement of Nature’s own principles, the complement
of Nature’s own designs, assuredly we best obey the views of
Nature, and best understand the purposes of Art, when, leaving
total irregularity to the more extended, more distant, and more
neglected recesses of the park, we give some degree of symmetry
to the smaller, and nearer, and more studied divisions of the
pleasure-ground. This principle of proportioning the regularity
of the objects to their extent, the Greeks well understood. While
in the Medici Venus the attitude of the body only displays the
unsymmetric elegance of simple nature, the hair presents all the
symmetry of arrangement of the most studious art; and unless
this principle also become familiar among us there is great
danger that, unable to make the grounds harmonise with the
mansion, we attempt to harmonise the mansion with the grounds,
by converting that mansion itself into a den or a quarry.

Economy, no doubt, may sometimes be alleged as an un-
answerable reason for leaving even the most important and
dignified of our country mansions entirely destitute of the ac-
companiments of covered walks, terraces, balustrades, parterres,
berceaux, and such like works of art and nature combined; but
that taste should be made the pretence for wholly discarding
those numerous additional means of increasing the splendour
and the variety of the scene, is an abuse of terms as egregious as
it seems inconceivable.

Art. VII. Remarks on several Species of Contfercee, with Reference
to the Climate of North Britain. By JoHN Gricor, Forres
Nurseries.

Or the many species of Coniferze which have been introduced
into Britain within the last twenty years, it is questionable
whether any, or all of them collectively, will yield so beneficial
a result to this country as that which is now known to arise
from the introduction of the Zarix europea, or common larch.
Although I have a high opinion of many of the new pines, yet
I do not think that, from what we know of them at present, this
question can be satisfactorily answered. It is, however, already
apparent, that whatever qualities many of those of recent intro-
duction may possess, scarcely any of them appear to afford, in
an equal degree, the means of being propagated with facility.
From the natural bareness of their roots, few of them are so
well adapted to be grown in seed-beds, and safely transplanted

ae
Por

with Reference to the Climate of North Britain. 165

from thence into moorland, as the larch. Seldom does a speci-
men of this tree arrive at the age of twenty years without
producing several crops of cones; and it is not uncommon for a
tree of that age to yield, in one season, seeds sufficient to raise
several thousand plants. ‘The larch, when young, is also re-
markable for its readiness to strike root into the ground imme-
diately on being transplanted ; so much so, that in no degree is
its growth interrupted if planted in a suitable soil. Hence, a
plant of the age of three years, having been twice removed, is
frequently as large and vigorous as one of the same age which
has grown under any other circumstances. ‘These are properties
which, in Britain, we cannot yet ascribe to any other timber
tree, either indigenous or foreign.

The most useful tree in Scotland is, without doubt, the native
Highland pine. The larch ranks next to it, and although the
timber of the latter, from its liability to warp, will never be in
general use for flooring or many other purposes of the carpenter,
yet its rapidity of growth, and fitness for ship-building at so
early an age, render its cultivation in proper soil more profitable
than that of any other tree.

When time shall have tested the numerous species of Hima-

-layan and American pines now new to this country, some of
them may be found as famous for timber as they now are for
ornament. Of the former, the most beautiful, as well as the
most promising in our northern regions, is the Cédrus Deodara.
Seedling plants of this tree grow here in the open ground to the
height of 4 or 5 inches during the first summer, and resist the frosts
of winter, auguring well of their future prosperity. In the shires
of Inverness and Ross, where it is considered to be quite hardy,
there are several fine specimens of this tree. Its figure is that
which is best adapted to a mountainous district, well furnished
with branches from the surface of the ground upwards, and
tapering into a conical form. The leaves of vigorous trees are
of a silvery green, of the most delicate shades, whilst the entire
tree is rendered graceful from the young branches being pen-
dulous. At a distance, its outline and appearance may be com-
pared to spray falling around the column of some ornamental
fountain; in short, it is altogether different in its habit from any
other evergreen tree grown in our climate. By the Hindoos it
is considered sacred ; and, according to Dr. Royle, it is the most
celebrated ligneous production of the country to which it be-
longs.

The Pinus excélsa is a native of the same part of the world,
and young plants grown here appear quite suited to the climate.

Pinus ponderosa, a native of North America, grows in the
North of Scotland with great vigour, and resists the severest

frosts ; but all the older specimens in this quarter have become
mM 3

166 Remarks on the Conifera.

top-heavy, and require support. It is, besides, much infested
with a small beetle of the genus ? Hylargus, which per forates
longitudinally the more luxuriant shoots of one year’s growth.
The largest specimen of it in this quarter has thus been de-
stroyed, ‘although placed on a Jawn at a distance from any other
tree. Unless these casualties, to which this plant is particularly
subject, can be overcome by sowing the seed where the tree is
destined to remain, or by planting it at a very early age into
poor soil, where it may become more fixed and spreading, and
produce young shoots less luxuriant, and consequently of a
harder texture, its vigorous habits will be of little avail.

Abies Douglas? is likewise of very rapid growth here, some
of the largest ‘trees having produced top shoots in one summer
3 ft. in length; and, like Picea pectinata, the plant becomes well-
rooted and furnished with lateral branches before it produces
strong leading shoots, so that it is not subject to be blown over.
TI fear, however, this species is not sufficiently hardy for our
climate. Some fine plants of it, situated in the higher districts
of Morayshire, grew luxuriantly for several years previous to the
autumn of 1838, when they produced a profusion of second
shoots (such as are common on the oak and beech, and known
here by the title of Lammas growths), which, being overtaken by
the frosts, were so cut up that the plants perished. - From this
tree being in the habit of growing at such a late period of the
year, it is supposed to be adapted only to the most favourable
situations in this country.

Concerning the suitableness of other species of the Coniferze
more recently introduced into this quarter, all is conjecture.

In the extensive plantations of Sir W. G. G. Cumming, Bart.,
which are now in progress of being formed on the moorland of
some of the most elevated hills a the Altyre estate, a con-
siderable number of Himalayan pines are to be introduced. At
Dalvey, the C. Deodara, P. excélsa, P. Webbidna, and many of
the most promising kinds, are extensively grown. ‘The pro-
prietor of this estate, Norman Macleod, Esq. has done much
for the improvement of gardening in the north, and his example
in this instance cannct fail to have a powerful effect in advancing
the important interests of arboriculture.

Though J cannot speak decidedly of the merits of those new
pines as timber trees in the climate of Britain, it does not follow
that their cultivation is rendered the less interesting or necessary.
It is probable that about the beginning of next century, when the
various kinds shall have been fully tried and known, some of the
Himalayan and American sorts will rank as high, and be as
eagerly cultivated for valuable timber, as our best Kuropean
kinds now are, not excepting even the Highland pine.

Forres, Jan. 1841.

BRS

inte

Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices. 167

Art. VIII. Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices of
the Kinds of Plants newly introduced into British Gardens and
Plantations, or which have been originated in them; together with
additional Information respecting Plants (whether old or new) already
in Cultivation: the whole intended to serve as a perpetual Supplement
to the ‘* Encyclopedia of Plants,” the “‘ Hortus Britannicus,” the
“ Hortus Lignosus,” and the “* Arboretum et Fruticetum Britan-
nicum.”

Curtis's Botanical Magazine ; in monthly numbers, each containing
seven plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by Sir William
Jackson Hooker, LL.D., &c., Professor of Botany in the University
cf Glasgow.

Edwards’s Botanical Régister ; in monthly numbers, new series, each
containing six plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by
Dr. Lindley, Professor of Botany in the University College,
London.

_Maund’s Botanic Garden, or Magazine of Hardy Flower Plants cul-
tivated in Great Britain; in monthly numbers, each containing
four coloured figures in one page; large paper, 1s. Gd.; small, Ls.
Edited by B. Maund, Esq., F.L.S.

The Botanist ; in monthly numbers, each containing four plates, with
two pages of letterpress; 8vo; large paper, 2s. 6d.; small paper,
ls. 6d. Conducted by B. Maund, Esq., F.L.S., assisted by the
Rev. J. S. Henslow, M.A., F.L.S., &c., Professor of Botany in the
University of Cambridge.

Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants;
in monthly numbers; large 8vo; 2s. 6d. each.

The Ladies’ Magazine of Gardening ; in monthly numbers ; 8vo,
with coloured plates; 1s. 6d. each. Edited by Mrs. Loudon.

Ranunculacee.
1622. ANEMO‘NE 14400 cérnua Ladies’ Mag. of Gard. t. 2. fig. 1.
Papaveracee.
1552. PAPA‘VER (776.

commutatum Fische et Mey. changeable © or 1 au.s S Siberia 1839. S co. Bot. gard.

A pretty showy annual poppy, which will probably prove a variety of P.
Rhee'as. (Bot. Gard., Feb.)

Leguminose.
2136. LA’/THYRUS

tomentdsus West. woolly A pr 3 su Li Buenos Ayres 1839. D _ s.1 Bot. 206.

A rather elegant plant, with pale lilac flowers, and glaucous silky leaves. It
should be grown in light rich soil, “ and, if it be planted against a south wall,
it will flower freely ; but, if planted in a stiff soil, it will be very liable to damp
off.” ( Botanist, Feb.)

Onagrarie.
1183. ZGNOTHE‘RA 10021 fruticdsa var. indica Bot. Reg. 1841, 11.

A very handsome Indian variety of this well-known species. “Its leaves
are less shining than in the species; the corymbs of flowers are never elevated
above the leaves on a long stalk, and the herbage forms a compact little bush,
about a foot and a half high.” (Bot. Reg., Feb.)

Composite.

* BRACHY/COME Cass. Swan Datsy. (Brachus, short, home, hair ; shortness of the pappus:)
zberidifolia Benth. Iberis-leaved O or 4 su P Swan River 1840. S co, Bot. reg. 1841, 9,
mM 4

168 Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices.

A very beautiful dwarf annual, the flowers of which vary from dark purple
to lilac, the colour deepening according to the length of time the flower has
been expanded. “It flowers freely in the open border, but is impatient of
wet ; at the latter end of the season it may, however, be lifted and transferred
to ee greenhouse, where it will go on flowering beautifully.” (Bot. Reg.,
Feb.

OBELISCA‘RIA Cass. (Obeliskos, obelisk, kara, head; elevated disk of flower.) Drumméndz Grah.
Synonyme : Rudbéeckia Drumménd? Paxt. vol. vi. p. 51. (See Gard. Mag., vol. xv. p. 244.)

This very handsome plant, which was introduced by Drummond, is one of
those removed by Cassini “from the heterogeneous assemblage of plants
which were formerly included under the name of Rudbeckia, and the character
by which it may be distinguished seems perfectly good.” (Dr. Graham in
Botanist, Feb.)

Asclepiadeze.

STEPHANO'‘'TIS Du Petit Thouars. (Stephanos, crown, Otdets, eared ; auricles of staminal crown.)
floribtinda Ad. Brong. many-flwd [J or 6 my,.W Madagasc. 1839. Cp. Botanist, 203.
A splendid evergreen climber, with dark green coriaceous leaves somewhat

like those of Ficus elastica. ‘Though of comparatively late introduction, it is

already common in our stoves, of which its large bunches of fragrant white.
flowers render it a conspicuous ornament. (Botanist, Feb.)

Solanacee.
SOLASNUM
macranthtrum Dun. large-anthered — «w_] or 3s P Mexico 1838. .C c Bot. reg. 1841, 7.
Synonyme ; §. dulcamaroides Potr.

A very showy species, raised by Mr. Page of Southampton, from Mexican
seeds. It is “a fine half-shrubby greenhouse plant, with large clusters of deep
purple flowers, whose centre is occupied by a knot of large bright yellow an-
thers. It appears to be nearly allied to the common bitter-sweet, and in
Mexico is of the same habit of growth.” The plant that flowered with Mr.
Page was, however, a bush about 3 ft. high. (Bot. Reg., Feb.)

[of Bot. vol. viii. p. 5.
jasminoides Hort. Jasmine-like § t_] pr 6 au.d Pa.P S. Amer. 1838. C s.1 Paxt. mag.

An evergreen climbing Solanum, with clusters of small pale purple fragrant
flowers. It flowered in the Epsom Nursery, in a pot in a camellia house, in
1839, continuing in flower from August till December. The following year it
was planted out, and continued flowering freely till killed down to the ground
by frost. (Paxt. Mag. of Bot., Feb.)

Orchidacee.
2540, ONCI’DIUM
Wray@e Hook. Mrs. Wray’s y XJ or 2 Y.B Mexico 1838. D p.r.w Bot. mag. 3854.
A pretty yellow and brown Oncidium, with a long spike of rather large
flowers. Introduced by Mrs. Wray of Oakfield, near Cheltenham. (Bot.
Mag., Feb.)
3722. HUNTLE‘Y 4 31623. violacea Paxt. Mag. of Bot. vol. viii. p. 1.

Musacese.
746. MU‘SA 6064. supérba Bot. Mag. 3849, 3850.

Amaryllidaceze.

935. IEMENE , :
virescens Lindl. greenish % AJ or 1 jn.au Gsh Cusco 1840. O l.p.s Bot. reg. 1841, 12,

An elegant plant, which is ornamental, notwithstanding its greenish flowers.
It should be kept in a greenhouse, where it “flowers from June to August. -
The leaves wither soon after flowering, when it must be kept perfectly dry till
spring.” (Bot. Mag., Feb.)
Liliacee.
1045. SOWERB AA [1841, 10.
laxiflbra Lindl. loose-flowered AJ pr 1 my.jl Pk Swan River 1839. R s.p Bot. reg.

This species differs from S. jancea, principally in the flowers being on long
slender stalks, which renders the general appearance of the plant much more
ornamental. The leaves are also triangular, and “nearly as long as the
scapes.” (Bot. Reg., Feb.)

On the Management of Cacti. 169

Art. IX. On the Management of Cacti. By N. M. T.

In managing cactoid plants, particularly the Cereus tribe, it is
customary to give them, while blooming, a more liberal supply of
water than at other times, but experience has convinced me that
this is sometimes injurious in some species. In the spring of
1838, a plant of the Céreus hexagonus under my care showed
flower buds; when I applied a little more moisture, and had the
mortification to see the buds turn black, and drop when about
the size of peas. In the autumn of the same year it again
produced flower buds, and the same treatment had again the
same effect. This determined me to pursue a different method ;
and, as soon as it showed flower in 1839, I withheld water en-
tirely; the buds continued to swell rapidly, and the whole
number (five) expanded beautifully ; and, in 1840, no less than
fourteen of its fine large ephemeral fiowers arrived at the greatest
perfection.

This plant is, I believe, generally deemed a shy bloomer, and
from the liability of the buds to drop when very small (if
water is supplied), it is probable its flower buds are often im-
perceptibly sacrificed, and a knowledge of these facts may lead
to greater vigilance. Much has been attributed to the influence
of light in causing these plants to flower; but the plant men-
tioned would indicate that a certain age, or maturity of organi-
sation, is the only requisite (plenty of light may sooner produce
the latter certainly), as its great height causes it to be placed in
the back of a vinery, where it is densely shaded during the
blooming season.

‘When a hypothesis appears that seems reasonable, and has
passed current for a time, we are too apt to adopt it without
questioning its validity, or bringing proof to its support. So it
is with some of the effects attributed to light ; for instance, plants
taken from the protection of glass, and exposed to the open air,
are said to. become discoloured from its direct influence, but this
is not the case. ‘Vake a plant from a warmer to a colder climate,
from a stove to a greenhouse, where the light is equally indirect,
equally qualified, and the same effect is produced as if taken
from the shelter of glass to the open air; demonstrating that it
is produced by change of temperature only. Of this, last
spring afforded me convincing proof. During March I turned
out several things, and planted them in a sheltered corner (in
the manner described in a paper at the time), to enable them to
get rid of this discolouration previously to their being planted out
in beds fully exposed to the sun. In April, which was intensely
hot, they soon assumed the unspotted hue of perfect health,
while the cold, cloudy, unseasonable weather that suddenly fol-
lowed, in a few days turned them as “ brown as berries.” Light
has no hand whatever in producing this appearance. Cold pro-

170 Shriveling of Grapes.

duces the same effect, and by the same means, ‘upon animal
bodies. Exposed to it, under certain circumstances, these soon
become black and blue. This appearance, caused by the stag-
nation of a coloured fluid under a semi-transparent surface, is
easily accounted for; that the discolouration of plants pro-
ceeds in like manner from a stagnation of fluids is evident:
but why the stagnation of a colourless fluid should become so
apparent, I cannot easily imagine.
Folkstone, Jan. 19. 1841.

Art. X. On the Shriveling of Grapes. By Ropert ERRINGTON.

I ave just been reading Mr. Duncan’s paper on the vine, p. 21.
of your January Number. It is in my opinion replete with good
sound information, and I must say, for one, I have derived both
amusement and instruction from it. There are also several
papers on the shriveling or shanking of grapes, by various
persons, anonymous and otherwise, in which the opinions are at
once so various and conflicting, that horticulture as a science
must appear in the eyes of learners a complete chaos.
_ This subject has now been discussed in the Gardener’s Maga-
zine, | should think, a hundred times, and appears as far from
settlement as ever; therefore I trust I also may be allowed to
make a few remarks. It is said by one of your correspondents,
that Dr. Lindley was of opinion that it arose from the dis-
crepancy, in point of temperature, between the border outside
and the atmosphere within. Such disagreement, we know, must
inevitably have a pernicious influence on any tree, but still this
alone will not, in my opinion, account for it; inasmuch as I
have known it occur every year, for a series of years, in houses
in which the grapes were started at their natural period. Your
correspondent, Mr, R. Wilson, too has had a vinery in which,
whilst the atmosphere in the house was West Indian, the roots
were at the same time undergoing all the rigours of a Siberian
winter. Now this he has done three successive years, and not
only with impunity, but he has (as he states) thereby obtained
the medal at the Jedburgh Society. Now, this is most as-
tounding, especially if the inference I draw be right, viz. that
he must have commenced forcing them in December, which
fact he has omitted to state. Your correspondent of Cotswold
talks about fermentation in the berries, in consequence of thin-
ning too early; but, unfortunately for his theory, some of the best
erape-growers in Britain produce splendid fruit by this early
thinning.

By the by, I cannot understand what the last-named corre-
spondent means by “ fermentation” in the berries in consequence

Shriveling of Grapes. 171

of early thinning ; it appears to me to savour of what is called
“jumping at conclusions.” Again, he says that the cambium
does not begin to descend until the berries have done stoning ;
this appears to me to be quite unwarrantable, and totally un-
supported by facts. I believe that the cambium, or returning
sap, begins to return the moment the leaves are fully developed,
_and numberless operations in gardening, I think, bear me out in
that opinion ; however, if wrong, I shall be glad to be set right
in so important a matter.

In my opinion, shanking may be caused either by stagnation
at the roots, or by a sudden declension of heat, at that important
period for the fruit, the time of changing colour, or by both
causes combined. I believe that, under favourable circumstances,
the action of the root in the Frontignan vine is more rapid than
in many other kinds. It at the same time, also, is much more
susceptible of injury, especially from excess of moisture, and
consequent stagnation. Now, whatever arrests the vigorous and
free action of the roots in this vine wili quickly manifest itself in
the fruit. The causes may be various: for instance sudden varia-
tions of atmosphere (not at all unfrequent in Britain) ; deluges
of rain, defeating for a time even the best of drainage; and last,
but not least, the want of abundance of heat and light on a
healthy and well exposed foliage at that period (important in-
deed) when the berries first begin to change colour. Fron-
tignans in pots on the back shelves of pineries seldom or never
shank, at least I never saw them. Radiation from the glass in
the night, in capricious seasons, is not taken sufficiently into ac-
count; and I venture to prophesy that the day is not far distant
when night coverings will be deemed indispensable, as being
favourable both to vegetation and economy.

Oulton Park Gardens, Feb. 1. 1841.

Art. XI. On the Shriveling of Grapes. By W.H.

As the shriveling of grapes is a subject in which all grape-
growers must be interested, I beg leave to make a few remarks
in answer to your various correspondents in this month’s [January,
1841] Magazine, hoping that they will lead to further eluci-
dation, as the subject seems to be still in doubt and obscurity.
Mr. Wilson does not say when he commenced forcing; this
is a very material point, as borders for early forcing cannot be
made too rich. ‘The vines being excited at an unnatural season,
there is no danger of their taking up more food than they can
digest, and the berries are therefore free from shriveling. The
leaves, also, are not half the size or thickness of vines excited in
the growing season, consequently they require less light to

172 oe Shriveling of Grapes.
Me x a

elaborate their saps If we had a command of light the same

as we have of heat, then we might make the borders as rich as

we liked; but, as our supply of light is limited, it is certainly

wrong to supply more food than they have light to properly

digest.

The suggestion of your Cotswold correspondent is, I think,
worthy of attention. Leaving all the berries on the bunches
leaves more channels for the distribution of the cambium, and
may be the means of preventing the disease; but, if the early
thinning of grapes causes the disease, how is it that the early
forced vines, which are pruned and thinned exactly in the same
way as the later ones, are not subject to it ? And how is it that
late vines which are grown under glass without any artificial
heat are not subject to it? The time of beginning to force has, in
my opinion, a great deal to do with the shriveling of the berries,
as I have proved by experience.

J. B. W. and I are of diametrically opposite opinions: he
says that want of food is the cause; and I, that the cause is over-
abundance of food. We therefore cannot both be right. As
the disease makes its appearance only in dull cloudy seasons, I
am led to conclude that more food is supplied than the leaves
have light to decompose; and that this superabundance of
crude sap causes a stagnation to take place throughout the
whole plant, in consequence of which the fruit ceases to advance,
and shriveling commences.

This, in a few words, is my opinion; and, until I see a better
propounded, I shall adhere to it. My borders are well drained,
and made with turf taken from the deer park, mixed with road
sand, hotbed manure, leaf-mould, and coarse lime rubbish,
mixed well together, not chopped fine, but left rough to keep
the borders open and porous. ‘The roots are close to the
surface, and the borders are never dug, but merely forked over
about a couple of inches deep to admit the air. They are
thatched early in autumn, to protect the spongioles from the
heavy rains of autumn and winter. This I consider an essen-
tial_point in vine culture, where the vines are planted outside.
They are pruned upon the spurring system: one rod is allowed
to each rafter, and the spurs are cut to one eye. My rafters are
15 ft. in length: to each rafter I allow eight bunches of Ham-
burgs, Frontignans, Muscadines, and Sweetwaters; six of the
Muscats; and four of the Syrian. To reduce the bunches to
this number, I have to cut off from twenty to thirty bunches
from each rafter. My berries are from 3 in. to 33 in., and some
few 4 in. in circumference, and well coloured. ‘The vines have
been planted twenty years next June, and their stems measure
from 5 in. to 8 in. in circumference, according to the sorts. I
state this to show J. B. W. that my vines have not been grown

Shanking and Shriveling of Grapes. 173

upon the starving system, and that I am neither sparing of the
knife nor the scissors; yet in dull seasons the footstalks of the
grapes will turn black notwithstanding.

Mawley Hall, Jan. 14, 1841.

ArT. XII. On the Shanking and Shriveling of Grapes.
By a GARDENER OUT OF PLACE.

I nave read with much interest the articles that have appeared
at different times in your Magazine on the culture of grapes ;
and the various opinions given respecting the shanking of the
bunches, and the shriveling of the berries. I have had for the
last twenty years to attend to three or four houses of early forced
grapes, thinning them out, &c.; and the conclusion I have ar-
rived at is, that the shriveling of the berries may be traced to
the sap in the stalk of the berry accumulating on the points of
the scissors, when thinning them out; which sap, if the scissors
are not kept perfectly clean, and very frequently wiped dry, gets
impregnated with iron so as to turn quite black. As you pro-
ceed in thinning, to every wound you make, a layer of this iron
extract is left on the stump of the stalk of the berry, which I
consider poisons the part, thus ‘* destroying or greatly weaken-
ing the principle of vitality.”

I may be right or wrong in this conjecture; but, if the obser-
vation of your Cotswold correspondent, “ that he never saw a
bunch shank that the scissors had been kept from,” is correct,
it will in some measure seem to sanction this opinion.

I consider Mr. Duncan, in his clever essay, decidedly wrong
in stating that ‘ syringing should be continued till the berries
have done growing.” ‘The grape-growers who grow for the
market, and who may be considered the best practical men in
the line, never syringe their vines after the bunches are in blossom.
The stems they do syringe, but the stems only. By syringing
the bunches, you wash off that beautiful bloom which, in the
ripe grape, adds so much, not only to their appearance on the
table, but to their pecuniary value in the market; and which,
when once it is gone, can never after be recovered. Syringing,
also, will very frequently make the bunches spotty; as, if there is
the least impurity in the water, not perceptible to the naked eye,
it is sure to be exhibited on the berries, ‘ growing with their
growth,” rendering them unsightly, and reducing them very
considerably in estimation. ‘The best way to colour grapes is
to give plenty of air, and as early in the morning as you possi-
bly can. Some leave a little all night ; this may be unnecessary,
but no consideration must tempt you to neglect it in the morn-
ing, full as early as 7 o’clock: if the weather is any way favour-
able it must be attended to, for, if neglected, a damp vapour

174 Culture and Forcing of Rhubarb.

arises in the house, and settling on the grapes makes them appear
covered with dew, but in reality poisons them; and is, no doubt,
when carried to excess, one main cause of the partial shanking
of the bunches. By giving air to the top lights early, this vapour
escapes, and the air in the interior of the house is purified, and
rendered fit to be inhaled by the vines.

Gardeners who are too greedy prevent their grapes sometimes
from colouring, by overloading the vines with bunches. ‘This is a
great error. A vine with its clusters of grapes may be com-
pared to a sow with a large farrow of young pigs; if too many
are left to draw her nutriment, they all suffer. ‘To give plenty
of water, more especially in dry weather, when grapes are swell-
ing off, may be considered good practice, as the vine is a plant
which will not only “ drink deep,” but “ again and yet again.”

If these remarks, drawn from a long experience, be published
in your Magazine, they may possibly elicit some of a more va-
luable kind from others of your correspondents, who are more
favourably situated for observation than ‘* A Gardener out of
Place.”

Camberwell, Jan. 25. 1841.

Art. XIII. On the Culture and Forcing of Rhubarb.
By R. A. Witson.

I sre leave to lay before you the following remarks on the cul-
ture and forcing of rhubarb, it being an article in much demand
in the winter and early spring months, when gooseberries, &c.
cannot be obtained unless in a preserved state; and few vege-
tables are more improved by being blanched than rhubarb, inde-
pendently of its medicinal properties, which, I may say, render it
beneficial to the majority of constitutions; but, putting that
out of the question, there are few persons indeed who do not
admire it in the shape of a tart in the early part of the spring.
But it is unnecessary to enlarge on the merits of a vegetable so
generally known; suffice it tosay, that, possessing such merits
as it does, it is not surprising that so many methods are tried
to grow and force it to perfection, and to lengthen its season to
the utmost extent; and there are few vegetables that the gardener
has been more successful with than the article before us. Never-
theless there are many instances where the forcing of rhubarb
is very improperly managed, when neither materials nor conve-
niency are wanting, such as plenty of spare litter, &c. &c. ; yet
how frequently do we see rhubarb roots taken up and stored
in cellars or back sheds, and forced in pots, as recommended
by Mr. Knight, when such exuberant forcing agency is at hand,
by the aid of which it might be forced in a superior manner.

- Rhubarb is found to succeed pretty well in most garden soils ;

Culture and Forcing of Ikhubarb. 175

but it grows to the highest perfection in strong turfy loam, well
trenched and profusely enriched with horse-dung and decayed
succulent vegetable leaves, putting the roughest dung in the
bottom of the trench, and the rottenest towards the surface. I
would also recommend rhubarb plants to be oftener transplanted
than they generally are, as it is proved beyond a doubt that this
vegetable attains a much greater degree of perfection for culi-
nary purposes by frequently undergoing that process. When
wanted for medicinal purposes, however, the case is widely dif-
ferent, in consequence of the root not attaining all its medicinal
properties till it is ten or eleven years old; consequently the
less it is disturbed the better, and the foliage must also remain
untouched.

As to the manner of forcing it, there are numerous systems
in practice, this emboldens me to lay before you the plan which
I have followed pretty successfully ; I do not mean to say that
it is new, but it certainly is not generally adopted in this part of
the country. In place of the general system of blanching it
under sea-kale pots, I would recommend square boxes, 2 ft.
square and 4 ft. high, open at both ends, with a cover for one
end of each, placing a box on each root; the roots must be 4 ft.
apart in the row, and 5 ft. between the rows, to admit of linings
of hot dung in such a state of fermentation as when used for
cucumber frames, putting a little rough litter at the bottom, to
prevent the hot dung from injuring the roots, which would cause
the stalks to draw up weakly. As soon as the linings get cold
and sunk, they must be renewed, by adding a little fresh litter,
and mixing it with the old, making the lining as high as the
box, and putting a little on the cover. ‘Two linings, in the
generality of cases, will be sufficient to force the stalks as high
as the box; and, if not too rapidly stimulated by exuberant heat,
the stalks will be stouter by this method of forcing than by any
other that I am aware of. When it is not a matter of conse-
quence to have the stalks so very stout, more can be obtained
from a given space of ground, by having the plants considerably
less apart from each other in the row, and constructing a sort of
skeleton span roof over the row, by means of stout upright stakes
6 ft. apart, stuck into the ground on each side of it and joined
at the top; upon these rails are to be nailed 8 in. apart the long
way of the row, and then thatched all over with a good lining
of hot dung, renewing it as occasion requires. ‘The stalks, of
course, will not be so stout as they can be obtained by the other
system, which is adopted by many eminent gardeners in the South
of Scotland.

There are many places, however, where the gardener has not
dung at command for the forcing of early rhubarb, when re-
course must be had to taking up the roots with as large balls

176 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c.

as possible, and plunging them in any convenient spot in any
forcing-house at work; shading them, and giving them plenty of
water. Should there not be a forcing-house at work, it will not
require much dung to force a small quantity in a frame in the
same manner as asparagus ; or in a vault made under a cucumber
frame, as prescribed by Mr. Smith in his Treatise on the Cucum-
ber and Melon, which, if followed up, will succeed admirably,
either with or without the asparagus frame. When none of
these conveniences can be had, it will succeed in a warm cellar,
or in any other spare house. where the temperature is a little
above that of the open air. ‘To those who prefer the flavour
of green rhubarb, the addition of a little acid juice or lemon
peel will answer the purpose.
Norton, Jan. 20. 1841.

REVIEWS.

Art. I. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany,
Rural Architecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of those
considered the more interesting.

TRANSACTIONS of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. 8vo. Philadelphia,
1839 and 1840.

This Society was founded in 1828, and it appears to be one of the most
prosperous in America. The list of plants exhibited is not inferior in point
of number and variety to those of many of the provincial societies of England,
and the culinary vegetables and fruits shown are in greater variety than what
usually takes place with us. The number of forced articles exhibited is as-
tonishing, considering that fifteen years ago, as we have been informed, there
was not that number of forcing-houses in all the United States. The library
of the Society contains 300 volumes ; and the Society intends to establish a
garden as soon as the funds will admit.

Book of Fruits ; being a descriptive Catalogue of the most valuable Varieties of
the Pear, Apple, Peach, Plum, and Cherry, for the New-England Culture.
By Robert Manning. To which are added the Gooseberry, Currant, Rasp-
berry, Strawberry, and the Grape ; with Modes of Culture ; also Hardy
Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. With plates. First Series for 1838. 12mo,
pp. 120. Salem, 1838. 3

The Pomological Garden at Salem, we are informed by Mr. Manning, con-
tains 1500 varieties of hardy fruit trees, and additions are made to it every
year from the best fruits of America and Europe. No scions are given out
until the fruit is proved, and till a reference can be given to some authority by
whom, or in which, it is described. Among the directions for planting we
find spring is preferred to autumn, and that “trees should rarely be placed
deeper in the ground than they originally stood in the nursery.” A very
useful hint to an American planter, as would appear from Mr. Bridgeman’s
remarks on this subject, quoted in our preceding volume.

Catalogue of Ferns, after the Arrangement of C. Sprengel, with Additions from
C. B. Presl, and References to the Authors by whom the Species are described :
to which is added a Synopticab Table of C. B. Presl’s Arrangement of Genera.
By J. Riley. 8vo, pp. 29. London, 1841.

Mr. Riley is an enthusiastic cultivator of ferns, and he has here produced

f Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. ri?

one of the most comprehensive catalogues of that order of plants which has
hitherto been published in this country. “ The arrangement of Sprengel, in his
_ edition of the Systema Vegetabilium of Linneus, 1827, has been followed in

this catalogue, rather than the modern one of Presl, because the latter has not
yet concluded his arrangement: and the names of species under Sprengel’s
genera are at present more generally used in collections, and more likely to
facilitate correspondence.

‘‘A table of Presl’s genera, showing the relation between them and the
genera of other authors, is added, and will be eminently useful in the classi-
fication of species.”

Observations sur quelques Plantes Critiques des Environs de Paris. Par Ernest
Cosson et Ernest Germain.

The object of this pamphlet is to make known Carex Mairi as indigenous
to the environs of Paris ; for which purpose an analysis of the species,
amounting to upwards of fifty, indigenous in the neighbourhood of Paris is
given.

Notice sur le Parolinia, nouveau Genre de la Famille des Cruciféres, et sur des
Espéces a ajouter ad la Flore des Canaries. Par P. B. Webb. Extracted from
the “ Annales des Sciences Naturelles.”

Parolinta ornata is a suffruticose erect plant with lmear, entire cinereous
leaves and light rose-coloured flowers; a native of the Canadas, and most
probably half-hardy in British gardens, to which we trust it will soon be in-
troduced by Mr. Webb.

Carter's Catalogue for 184:1, of a choice Collection of Floricultural, Vegetable, and
Agricultural Seeds, comprising upwards of 1900 Species and Varieties of
Flower Seeds ; and among others some splendid Assortments of German Asters,
Stocks, Zinnias, Hollyhocks, §c. Besides a numerous List of other established
Favourites, and many new and rare Seeds, well worthy the Attention of Florists
and Amateurs in general. Sold by James Carter, Seedsman and Florist,
Holborn, London. Small 8vo, pp. 31. 1841. Gratis to purchasers of
Seeds or Bulbs ; 6d. each, or 5s. per doz. for circulation.

One of the neatest, most methodical, correctly spelt. and accentuated seeds-
men’s catalogues that have ever been published. ‘The number of fine flowers
enumerated, described, and characterised by abbreviations, is quite astonishing ;
and not only their scientific names are given, but literal translations of them,
which is much more instructive, and much better calculated for fixing the
name on the memory, than the ordinary practice of adopting an English
name, which is sometimes a translation, and sometimes a synonyme. ‘This
catalogue, as we think, will not only spread a taste for fine flowers, but will
enable the young gardener and the amateur to pronounce and spell their
names correctly.

The Seventh Annual Report of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society. 8vo,
pp. 137, 4 engravings. Falmouth, 1839.

We noticed the Sixth Report of the proceedings of this Society in a former
volume, and quoted from it. In that now before us there are a number of
very interesting articles, particularly one on the atmosphere of the Cornish
mines, but, as it is not of a nature to be directly useful to gardeners, we must
pass it over.

2
A Dictionary of Science, Literature, and Art, comprising the History, Deserip-
tion, and scientific Principles of every Branch of Human Knowledge with
the Derwation and Definition of all the Terms in general Use. Mlustrated by
engravings on wood. Edited by W. T. Brande, F.R.S.L.& E. 8yo.
London, 1841. Part 1. Price 5s.

To those who cannot afford to purchase a scientific encyclopedia, this
1841,— ITI. 3d Ser. N

178 ~ General Notices.

promises to be the best substitute that has yet appeared. The articles are
evidently written with care and a knowledge of the subject ; and, where neces-
sary, they are illustrated by woodcuts. It is very copious in architecture,
an art which is every day becoming more popular.

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

Art. I. General Notices.

PRESERVATION and Staining of Wood. — At the Academy of Sciences, Paris,
at the sitting of Nov. 30. 1840, M. Dumas, in the name of a commission
composed of Messrs. Arago, de Mirbel, Poncelet, Gambey, Audouin, Boussin-
gault, and himself, made a report on a memoir by M. Boucherie. Though we
have given rather a minute analysis of this work, we think we ought, con-
sidering its great importance, to repeat the facts already spoken of, in the very
words of the commission.

M. Boucherie has endeavoured to render wood much more durable, to
preserve its elasticity, to prevent the variations in bulk which it undergoes
from drought and moisture, to diminish its combustibility, to increase its tena-
city and its hardness, and, lastly, to give it various durable colours, and even
smells. To say that these endeavours have been fulfilled by new and simple
methods by no means expensive, and by the aid of common substances at a
very low cost, is sufficient to characterise the importance of the author’s
labours.

To imbue an entire tree with conservative, colouring, or other substances,
the author has recourse to no complicated or expensive mechanical means ;
he takes advantage of all the absorbing force (force aspiratrice) of the vege-
table itself, and that is sufficient to transport from the base of the trunk to
the leaves all the liquids that are intended to be introduced, provided they are
kept within certain limits of concentration. Thus, if a tree in fuli sap is cut at
the base, and plunged in a tub containing the liquor it 1s meant to absorb, it
will ascend in a few days to the highest leaves ; all the vegetable tissue will
be imbued, except the heart of the tree, which, from its hard nature, particu-
larly in old stems, always resists penetration. It is not even necessary that
the tree should have all its branches and all its leaves; a few reserved at top
are sufficient for the purpose.

It is not necessary to have the tree standing, which would often render the
operation impracticable ; it may be cut down after having all the useless
branches lopped off, and its base then put in contact with the liquid to be ab-
sorbed, which penetrates, as usual, into all the parts. Indeed it is not even
necessary to cut down the tree; for a cavity made in the trunk, or the
greater part of the surface divided with a saw, is sufficient, by putting these
parts in contact with the liquid, to cause a rapid and complete absorption
of it.

If M. Boucherie has resolved the grand problem he proposed in a simple
and practical manner, he has shown no less sagacity in the choice of the
substances he has adopted to answer the purposes mentioned above. When
the durability and hardness of wood are to be increased, and dry rot or
moist decay avoided, he introduces into the tissue pyrolignite of rough iron
(fer brut). This substance is well chosen; for crude (brut) pyroligneous
acid is produced in all forests by the making of charcoal : it is easy to trans-
form this into pyrolignite of iron, by putting it in contact, when cold, even
with old iron, and the liquid thus prepared contains much creosote ; a sub-
stance which, independent of the salt of iron itself, has the property of
hardening wood, and of preventing rottenness, as well as the ravages of
insects, in timber used for building. Authenticated experiments made in the
cellars of Bordeaux, on hoops prepared by the author, have yielded the most

General Notices. 179

irrefragable proofs of the great durability of the wood prepared by his plan.
Ordinary hoops were reduced to powder at the least effort, while his were
as solid as at the first. é

_ When the warping of timber (jeu des bois), preserving its elasticity, and
rendering it less combustible, are considered, the author finds a cheap pre-
ventive in the use of earthy chlorides (chlorures terreux). Impressed with
the idea that his plans are soon to come into universal operation, he has not
been satisfied with merely using chloride of calcium (chlorure de calcium)
which costs so little, but has tried the efficacious water of the salt marshes
which costs nothing, and found it to contain all the requisite qualities. Timber
prepared by these saline solutions preserves its flexibility after several years’
exposure to the air; when cut into thin slices (feuilles), they may be twisted
spirally, and retwisted in a contrary direction, without cracking. When
exposed to the air, it never either warps or splits, however dry it may be; and
it does not burn, or at least with so much difficulty that it is incapable of
extending the ravages of a fire.

To these great and useful properties, which will be appreciated and applied
in the navy and in civil and domestic buildings, the author has added other
applications, which, without having the same utility, hold out new materials
and means for the arts. He colours timber with shades so various and so
curiously marked, that the commonest woods may be used with much effect
for inlaying. The pyrolignite of iron only gives a brown tint, which harmo-
nises well with the natural colour of the parts of the wood which are too
close for the pyrolignite to penetrate.

By introducing a tanning matter after the pyrolignite, ink is produced in the
body of the wood, and it is thus tinted either blue or grey.

By making the wood absorb pyrolignite of iron, and then prussiate of pot-
ashes, Prussian blue is produced.

By introducing successively acetate of lead and chromate of potashes, yellow
chromate of lead is formed.

By introducing into the same trunk pyrolignite of iron, prussiate, acetate
of lead, and chromate of potashes, shades of blue, green, yellow, and brown
are produced, which have the most varied effects. These compositions,
capable of causing so many different colours, may be varied ad infinitum: their
application depends on the taste of the operator. Chemistry is sufficiently rich
in reactions of this kind to satisfy the most extravagant wants and caprices.

It is evident on merely mentioning these results, that they have not, and
could not have, been found out by chance. The author has drawn them from
simple ideas which he had formed of all these phenomena, and these ideas
were the results of long, laborious, and close study of the question. The
author shows in his memoir the series of labour and reflection which must
necessarily have passed through his mind, before arriving at consequences
which he has reduced to practice, in itself as simple as it is economical. The
ideas and opinions which he sets forth have appeared to the commission to be
suitably supported by facts previously known, and by those which he has
made public.

An official of the Office of Waters and Forests, M. Millet d’Aubenton,
having made many applications relative to M. Boucherie’s proceedings to the
Academy, the commission necessarily examined the subject with the greatest
care: they declare unanimously that, in their opinion, the pieces sent by M.
Millet leave the entire property of the discovery, as far as it is scientifically
important and useful in the arts, to M. Boucherie. The idea of impregnating
large trees and colouring them with different liquids applied successively, is
secured to M. Boucherie by patents considerably anterior to all the pieces
produced by M. Millet.

_ In considering the extent of M. Boucherie’s labours, the expensive and

Interesting experiments to which he has devoted himself, the important results

he has already obtained, and those which may be hoped for the future, the

commission have not merely been satisfied in proposing those measures to the
N 2

180 General Notices.

Academy which are sufficient when the interest of science alone is in question.
They have thought that in a matter of public interest, in which our marine,
our public works, and our arts are so highly interested, in which our agriculture
will find new interest in the restoration of those forests so unfortunately
destroyed in some parts of France, something more was necessary than a
mere mark of approbation. They propose to the Academy, therefore, to
decide : —

“Ist. That M. Boucherie’s memoir should be placed in the collection of
works by foreign savans, which it well deserves.

“2dly.. That a copy of this report be transmitted to the Ministers of
Agriculture and Commerce, of Public Works, and of the Marine, Finances,
and War.”

The resolutions of this report were adopted. (Le Temps, Dec. 3. Com-
municated by G. G., Dec. 10. 1840.)

On a Method of Prognosticating the probable Mean Temperature of the
several Winter Months from that of corresponding Months in the preceding
Summer. — A-paper was read on this subject by Mr. Graham Hutchinson, at
the meeting of the British Association at Glasgow. “ From the slowness
with which the increased temperature of summer penetrates the surface of the
ground, Mr. Hutchinson thought it probable that the last portion absorbed
during the summer half of the year, and which descends to the least depth below
the surface, should be the first portion given off during the winter half; and,
in like manner, that the first portion absorbed during the summer haif, and
which must descend to a greater depth below the surface than any other
portion, should be the last to be given off during the winter half. And though
the diffusive tendency of caloric, andthe variations of temperature arising
from alterations in the direction of the wind, &c., may render it impossible to
predict within a week when the first, the last, or any other portion of the
summer’s heat is absorbed or given off by the earth’s surface, still, by em-
bracing a period of longer duration, such as a month, we may, on an average
of years, come somewhat near the truth. Agreeably to the principle above
stated, the months in which an absorption of heat takes place should have
corresponding months of retrocession, or some approximation thereto ; and,
consequently, the mean atmospheric temperature of any month in the summer
half of the year would afford a means of prognosticating the mean tempe-
rature of its corresponding month in the winter half of the year, so far at
least as that mean atmospheric temperature depended upon the retrocession
of heat absorbed during the previous summer half. For facility of com-
parison, the two equinoctial months, September and March, were left out of
consideration. The corresponding months of temperature, then, are as
follows :—

August has October following

June December for its corresponding month of
May January temperature.
April February

“Tf, for example, August be warmer than average, the mean atmospheric
temperature of October following should likewise be warmer than average.
From tables then referred to, Mr. Hutchinson said it appeared that, in Scot-
land, deviations in the mean temperature of the summer months have a visible
influence in producing like deviations of temperature in their corresponding
months in the subsequent winter half of the year. It appeared, also, that, in
the generality of years, the other disturbing causes, which diversify the tem-
perature of the same winter months in different years, such as variations in
the direction and force of the winds, &c., have less influence when averaged
for a month than we should be apt @ priori to suppose. And when the same
months, for a number of years, are grouped together and compared, as was
done in the tables, the disturbing causes, which may occasion a great deviation
from the mean temperature in any particular month in one year, seem partially
te neutralise each other, and render the influence of unusual warmth or

General Notices. 181

unusual coldness in any summer month, in producing a similar degree of
unusual warmth or coldness in its corresponding winter month, more apparent
than could have been anticipated.” (Atheneum.)

Some interesting remarks in accordance with this paper will be found in
Pouilliet’s Essay on Terrestrial Heat. — Cond.

Respiwation of Plants. — M. Colin has read before the Academy of Sciences
a memoir on the respiration of plants, the experiments detailed in which were
performed with M. Edwards, sen.

Searcely any of the phenomena of the respiration of plants have been
hitherto recognised, except the disengagement of carbonic acid gas ; and this
has been explained by the combination of the oxygen of the air with the
carbon of the grain. Thus, according to this theory, the grain is only acted
upon by the atmosphere, and the action of water on the respiration of plants
is not considered. In the respiration of leaves, carbonic acid is evolved
during the night, and during the day it is absorbed, and oxygen is disengaged
by the direct solar rays; and these facts are explained on the supposition
that the carbonic acid absorbed is decomposed by the plant, its carbon appro-
priated, and the oxygen disengaged. But this explanation supposes the plant
to possess a decomposing power, which to MM. Edwards and Colin it seems
difficult to admit ; and they have in consequence resumed the examination of
this function of plants.

Hitherto the experiments performed on the respiration of grain have always
been performed in the air; or when they have been performed in water, the
explanation of the phenomena have been limited by what occurs in the air :
what has been disengaged in the fluid has not been examined; but this has
been done by MM. Edwards and Colin.

They took a globe with a straight neck, the capacity of which was from
three to four litres of water (about 183 to 244 cubic inches), with which it
was filled ; and they then introduced forty large and perfect Windsor beans
(féves de marais). To the globe a bent tube was adapted, and which termi-
nated in a jar also filled with water. The beans were then in contact only with
the water and the air which it contained, and which could not be renewed
on account of the mode in which the experiment was performed; and this
is an important circumstance, and upon which the success of the experiment
depends.

The first phenomenon which appeared was the disengagement of bubbles of
air arising from the seeds: at the end of twenty-four hours the disengagement
was considerable. At the expiration of four days the beans were weighed ;
they had increased twenty per cent in weight. When put into the ground, they
came up perfectly ; which proves that they had suffered no change. As to the
production of gas, that which was disengaged, after passing through the water
and received im the tube and jar, was only a sign of the function ; it could be
only that portion which the water did not dissolve as it was gradually formed,
it was therefore smaller in quantity than that which was dissolved. The
quantity of air which had passed through the water without being dissolved*
amounted to from twenty to forty millimetres (1°22 to 2°44 cubic inches) ;
but that which was dissolved in the water, and which was expelled from it by
ebullition, was very considerable. Before this experiment, the water in the
globe contained about 4°577 cubic inches of air ; and after the experiment
more than 30°5 cubic inches of gas were expelled. Thus the action of the
beans alone produced nearly 30 cubic inches of gas. No doubt, therefore, can
exist as to the action of water in the respiration of the beans.

It was found that the gas generated consisted of, Ist, an enormous quantity
of carbonic acid; 2dly, an almost infinitely small portion of oxygen; and,
3dly, a very small quantity of a gas which appeared to be azote, or at any
rate the authors at present so consider it: its proportion was rather smaller
than that of the air contained in the water.

These experiments, then, prove that during the respiration of plants water
is decomposed, and that the carbonic acid formed is derived from the oxygen of

N 3

182 Foreign Notices : — Italy.

the water, which unites with the carbon of the grain. MM. Edwards and Colin
propose to examine, on a future occasion, whether the carbonic acid thus
formed is totally or partially disengaged, and whether the hydrogen of the
water is absorbed by the grain. (L’Institute, No. 257., as quoted in Phil. Mag.
vol. xiv. p. 74.)

Art. II. Foreign Notices.

ITALY.

Monza, Jan. 9. 1841.—In one of my former letters, I think about two
or three years back, I mentioned that at Milan, in the garden of Count Cas-
tiglioni, President of the Royal Institute of Sciences and Arts in the kingdom
of Lombardy, there was a Salisbiria adiantifolia female, which had flowered,
but which at that time had not fruited. I mentioned also, I think, that it
was grafted on a branch of a large male plant of the same species. Well,
for the last two years it has borne fruit, and perfect fruit too; as last year I
sowed some, and all have grown. ‘They are ripe at the beginning of October,
some were eaten and found tolerably good ; I, however, have never tried
them, and therefore cannot say any thing of their flavour. If I knew how
to send you seeds, I would transmit them; if you would like to have some,
let me know how to send them, it being rather difficult here to find an
opportunity of sending to’ London.

The Baron Zanoli, already frequently brought under your notice for his rich
collection of plants, has this year introduced the following species: Larix
communis péndula Godsalli; Pinus japonica, P. Russeliana, P. Devoniana,
P, pityusa, P. palistris excélsa, P. leiophylla, P. macrophylla, P. oocarpa,
P. Monteziime, P. apulcénsis, P. Hartwéet, P. Pseudo-Strobus ; A*bies
gigantéa, A. balsamea male, A. balsamea female, and a Dammara australis
4 ft. high. While speaking of the pinetum of Baron Zanoli, I will give you
some notices on the Abies monocatlon (see vol. xvi. p. 99. of the Gard.
Mag.), which appears to me rather to belong to Picea. It was discovered
in 1838, in the mountains round Vicenza, inthe Venetian States, by M. Giu-
seppe de Salvi of Vicenza. He only found about ten plants in one locality,
but he hopes to meet with others, and parent plants. He told me that all
the plants he found were not higher than 3 or 4 feet ; that’ most of them had
only one stem, few had two. He is of opinion that the bifurcation was
caused by the cattle, which are pastured here during summer, cropping off the
original stem.

I have been at work now for several years compiling a catalogue of the
plants in the Royal Gardens. Your excellent works, the Encyclopedia of
Plants, Hortus Britannicus, and the Arboretum et Fruticetum, are of great
assistance to me in this undertaking. I have arranged it alphabetically, and
by the side of every genus I have given the class and order according to the
system of Linnzeus, and the natural order to which it belongs: and as in
the present state of science it is of consequence to take the synonymes into
consideration, in order not to run the risk, in selecting plants or seeds from
different catalogues, of getting duplicates, that is, of choosing a species
which we already possess, because they do not all follow the same authority,
I have thought it best to introduce all the Latin synonymes, and even most of
the Italian ones. As to the rest, that is, the signs indicating the habit, the
duration, &c., I have made use of the table you gave in your two valuable
works, the Encyclopedia and the Hortus Britannicus, which in so few columns
contains so much that is interesting in theory and practice. —

The love of horticulture is making rapid progress in Lombardy, of which
we have a proof in the numerous nurseries every year established. In Milan
alone, during the last year, two or three have been opened. I will give you
soon an account of the new plants which in the course of last year, 1840,
have been introduced into the Milanese.

Domestic Notices : — Ireland. 183

In looking over your magnificent work the Arboretum, which is my vade
mecum, as it ought to be that of every gardener and amateur, containing as it
does all that is known of the science, I do not find among the uses made of
the fruit of the whortleberry (Vaccinium Myrtillus), that to which it is ap-
plied in the mountains of the Lago Maggiore (Verbano). In those years
when grapes are scarce, the mountaineers make wine for their own use of
these berries. They gather them and put them to ferment as grapes are treated,
in vessels, adding water in the proportion of three fourths.of a Milanese boc-
cale (about 4 pints) to every pound weight of fruit. I have been assured by
persons every way worthy of credit, who used it, that it is an excellent
beverage, not inferior to the common drinking wine of the country; and that
wine made solely of the fruit, that is entirely without water, cannot be dis-
tinguished from our best wine. In one year, in three communes, more than
100 Milanese brente (about 960 gallons) were made of it.

The celebrated Dr. Roberto de Visiani, Professor of Botany in the Uni-
versity of Padua, who intends publishing the flora of Dalmatia, in his Semina
H, Patavini Anno 1840 collecta, gives a new species of Cytisus, which he
dedicates to the discoverer, Professor Alschinger. Here is the description as
given by Visiani: —

“« Cytisus Alschingeri Vis.

“C. fruticosus, adpresse canescens, petiolis canaliculatis, foliolis oblongis
utrinque attenuatis, ramis racemisque patulis rigidis, calycibus profunde labiatis,
labio inferiore ovato-lanceolato subintegro longiore, leguminibus margine in-
crassatis.

“ Habit. In sylvaticis mont. Vellebith in Dalmatia, ubi detexit et sub nomine
Cyt. Laburni communicavit egreg. Prof. Alschinger. Modo colitur in Horto
Patavino.

* Admodum affinis Cyt. Laburno, qui differt petiolis planis, calycibus leviter
labiatis, labiis subzequalibus, inferiore ovato apice tridentato, et preecipue
ramis racemisque gracilibus pendulis.”

“ Shrubby, appressedly canescent, petioles channelled, leaflets oblong
tapering on both sides, branches and racemes spreading rigid, calyx deeply
lipped, lower lip ovate-lanceolate subentire longer, pod thickened at the
margin. ;

“ Found in woods on Mount Vellebith in Dalmatia, by Prof. Alschinger, and
communicated by him as Cyt. Laburnum. Now in the Padua Garden.

“Closely related to C. Laburnum, which differs in having smooth pe-
tioles, and a slightly lipped calyx, with subequal lips, the lower terminating
in an ovate three-toothed apex ; and especially in having slender pendulous
branches and racemes.”

The same professor gives an account, in the above catalogue of seeds, of
three other new plants, of which I will speak in my next, as well as of many
other things. In the meantime I hope you will make the following correc-
tions to some errors in the Gard. Mag., vol. xvi.

In p, 305. line 17., for “ Milanese pestichi,” read “ Milanese pertiche.” 308.
lines 9. and 41., instead of ‘“ Lomani,” read “ Lomeni.” 309. line 20., instead
of “ Abate Swagani,” read “ Abate Longoni.”—Giuseppe Mannetti.

Art. III. Domestic Notices.
IRELAND.

PrNnus pumilic.— The tree which afforded the specimens I now send you

has been about forty-two years planted, and is now 18 ft. high, branched from

the base, and forming a kind of pyramid, with rather a light and elegant ap-

pearance, different from any of our other pines. During the tremendous

hurricane which occurred here in January, 1839, this tree was completely
N 4

184. Douglas's Monument.

uprooted, but fortunately a large ball of earth adhered to the roots, which
encouraged me to have it replanted, though I then deemed the experiment
hopeless: it however turned out otherwise, and the tree has since grown
luxuriantly, and produced the cones now enclosed.

Near this there is another very similar tree, Pinus alopecurdidea of the
Garden Catalogue, and probably P. Tze‘da alopecurdidea Hort. Kew., which
you quote doubtfully in Ardoret. Brit. as a synonyme of P. serdtina Michaux.
I can find no characters permanently distinct in our plants, farther than the
one which we call P. alopecurdidea growing more upright, and producing
the leaves in larger bundles at the ends of the branches. The cones are
similar in both. A

Connected with this subject, I may notice that the Earl of Kenmare is
now preparing to plant a pinetum at Killarney, on an extensive scale, which
may be looked forward to with considerable interest, as that locality possesses
a greater combination of circumstances favourable to the growth of American
and Himalayan Conjferze, than perhaps any other place in the whole range of
the British Islands. While on a botanical tour to the South-west of Ireland
last autumn, I was much gratified to find that Pinus australis Arb. Brit. had
stood at Killarney without the least protection during the last eight years, and
is now a splendid plant 10 ft. high, growing luxuriantly; and at Kenmare, in
Dr. Taylor the celebrated cryptogamic botanist’s demesne, Cunninghamia
lanceolata, 9 ft. high, and seven years planted. hododéndron arboreum
flowers there without protection.—D. Moore. Royal Dublin Society’s Botanic
Garden, Jan. 8. 1841.

The Gigantic Flax.—I am sorry to inform you that your Linum altissi-
mum has, in our cold and ungenial climate, turned out a failure. It did not
reach above 44 ft. in height, and has no pretensions to its specific epithet of
altissimum. I sent the seeds to my neighbour, Lord Gosford, where they
were paid all attention to, but without success. I ought however to state,
that the seeds were sown too late, and as they purpose saving the seed, we
shall be able to speak more accurately next year. It appears, however, to be
so coarse that no fine linen could be made from it.— W, B. Belfast, Oct.
1840.

Art. IV. The Monument to the Memory of Mr. Douglas.

I oBsERVE a query on the cover of the February Number of the Gardener’s
Magazine, by W. Godsall of Hereford, respecting the application of the money
subscribed for the Douglas Monument, in which I, as secretary, am referred
to for areply. Mr. Godsall and other subscribers have an undoubted right
tq make such enquiries, and I shall feel obliged if in an early Number you
will be kind enough to insert the following as my answer.

After long-continued and repeated trials to obtain an amount of subscription
to enable the committee to recommend something like the original plan of
purchasing ground whereon to plant some of those trees and shrubs in-
troduced by Douglas, the sum subscribed not much exceeding 170/. (a large
proportion of which was procured through your exertions), it was resolved
last summer to call a general meeting of subscribers, by advertisement in the
newspapers, to meet in the George Inn, Perth. That meeting was but thinly
attended, Sir P. Murray Thriepland, Bart., of Fingask, in the chair. Several
plans were laid before the meeting, and one was decided on. A sub-com-
mittee was appointed to see it carried into execution, Col. Murray Belshes,
of Invermay, convener. It having been found impracticable to purchase a
proper site on any of the neighbouring entailed estates in consequence of the
nature of the entails, Col. Murray Belshes put himself in correspondence
with the heritors of Scoon, the native parish of Douglas, and requested me
to call on the members of the sub-committee to attend a meeting of heritors

Queries and Answers. . 183

in Scoon church, in August last; and, through the influence and the urbanity
of the heritors who most readily acquiesced in all his proposals, an excellent
and commanding site has been obtained in Scoon churchyard. The founda-
tion has been dug 5 ft. deep and built to the surface ; the work is in progress
under the inspection of your scientific correspondent, Mr. M‘Kenzie, Perth
Town, Architect, who kindly gives his services gratis. It is expected that it
will be completed early in summer, and when finished I shall transmit to you
a drawing thereof, and inscriptions, for which I hope you will find a place in
your valuable Magazine.

I feel obliged to Mr. Godsall and yourself, for giving me an opportunity of
making this communication, which will, I hope, in the meantime prove satis-
factory to the subscribers.— A. Gorrie. Annat Cottage, Feb. 4. 1841.

Art. V. Retrospective Criticism.

Mr. PENN’s Mode of heating Hothouses.— Our correspondent N.M. T.,
in our January Number, p. 42., cautions persons against erecting the apparatus
of Mr. Penn, as at first applied by the inventor, and as figured and described
in the Gardener’s Magazine for 1840 ; because, he says, “ persons erecting it
exactly according to the sections and descriptions given in the Magazine will
find it unsuccessful.” He adds that, “as to heating an early forcing-house
sufficiently with the pipes placed outside, it would, in particular cases, high
winds for instance, amount to an impossibility,” &c. We refer our readers
to the remainder of the paragraph, which is curious, as having anticipated, by
upwards of a month, the objections made to Mr. Penn’s plan by Dr. Lindley,
in the Gardener’s Chronicle of Jan. 6. — Cond.

ArT. VI. Queries and Answers.

WuiTE Scale, Brown Scale, Woodlice, Singing-Birds. —I shall be greatly
obliged, if you or any of your correspondents will inform me of the best
system of destroying the white scale on pine plants, and the brown scale on peach
trees ina house. Iam also much troubled with the woodlice on mushroom
beds. I have used every means I could devise, but they are of no avail.
What is the best and cheapest work containing information suitable for a
gardener, on the subject of keeping and breeding canaries and other singing-
birds in an aviary in a flower-garden ?— An old Subscriber. Yorkshire, Jan. 18.
1841.

The Onion Maggot.— For several years past my onion beds have been
injured to a considerable extent by a small white maggot, which attacked
them in great numbers last year, to the almost total destruction of the
crop. They commence their ravages whilst the onion is young; and, before
there is much bulb, one or more of these devourers attack each root. Last
year I sowed my onions in drills upon recently manured ground, which bore
the preceding year a crop of potatoes; for a time they looked most promising,
but, when they ought to have begun to bulb, it was most mortifying to see the
plants, drill after drill, droop ; and, when I took hold of the stem, I found that
these pests had been at work, and effected a lodgement in the heart of the
plant. I have limed the ground without success: last year I gave a good
sprinkling of soot over the beds, as soon as I perceived the enemy had begun
the attack. I have also sprinkled salt in moderate quantities upon the soil
about this period of the year, but without any favourable result. I take the
liberty, therefore, of applying to you for advice and information, for which I
shall look anxiously to your March Number. What kind of a fly or insect
do these laryze become when they arrive at their perfect state ? Do the parent

186 Obituary : — Francis Bauer.

flies deposit their eggs by preference on any particular kind of manure, or do
they deposit them in the garden soil? What means can I adopt to guard my
beds of onions against them for the future.— 7’. Harper. York, Feb. 6. 1941.

Our correspondent is referred to our January Number, p. 88., and to Vol.
XIII. p. 241. In the latter article he will find the onion fly (Anthomyia
ceparum) figured in all its different stages, and in the former the only remedy
that we have heard of as likely to prove effectual. — Cond.

The small Stag-Beetle.— The beetle sent by Mr. Thomas Weaver, found
by him in considerable numbers in the perfect state, on the 19th of January,
in the old root of an elm tree, near Winchester, and which was completely
bored through by them, is the small stag-beetle, Dorcus parallelipipedus, a
very common insect, of which you have given full illustration, both in the
Gardener’s Magazine and Ar-
boretum Britannicum. [See jig.
22. from the latter work.] It
attacks rotten trees of other
kinds besides the elm. On
breaking up some of the rotten
wood sent, I was pleased to _%
find some of the insects also
as larve of very small size.
— J. O. Westwood. Hammer-
smith, Jan. 20. 1841.

Oak Spangles.— Mr. Long’s
short note sent to me some
time ago on the various kinds
of oak spangles, the preva-
lence of some, and the entire
absence of them on certain
species of Quércus, is so far
interesting as confirming to a
certain degree, what I have
Jong suspected, that there are several species of gall flies which make these
different spangles, the history of which, hitherto neglected, would be an inte-
resting subject of enquiry for an out-door country observer of nature. — Id.

Fig. 22. Dorcus parallelipipedus.
a, The male. 6, The female. c, The larva.

Art. VII. Obituary.

Francis BAUER, Esa.— We have just heard that the remains of this fine-
hearted old man were, on Wednesday the 16th [Dec.], consigned to the grave
in the churchyard of Kew, in which village he had resided for more than half
acentury. To the scientific world, his merits are sufficiently known; but the
following short sketch of his life, for which we are indebted to a friend, will,
no doubt, be acceptable to the general reader.

Mr. Bauer was born at Feldsberg, in Austria, on the 4th of October, 1758,
and died at Kew on the 11th of December, 1840. He lost his father (himself
an artist) at an early age, and was initiated, with his brothers, in the ready use
of the pencil, under the guidance of an excellent mother. He came to Eng-
land in the year 1788, with the intention to proceed to Paris, where, notwith-
standing the progress of the revolution, artists and scientific men were allowed
to follow their pursuits without molestation. His brother Ferdinand, scarcely
less skilful in the art of delineating botanical subjects, and who subsequently
accompanied Mr. Robert Brown as draughtsman on Flinders’s voyage, had
already been with Sibthorpe in Greece, and was then at Oxford, busy in
completing the Flora Greca. Sir Joseph Banks soon appreciated Mr.
Bauer’s rare talents, as well as his singular sagacity in botanical physiology,
and prevailed on him to remain in England. Sir Joseph, in fact, settled on
its 300/. per annum for life, on condition that he should reside at Kew, as

— Se

Obituary : — Francis Bauer. 187

botanical painter to the Royal Gardens, which were then rapidly advancing to
a high state of perfection. The munificence of Sir Joseph enabled Mr. Bauer
to pursue the bent of his genius, independent of the public and of booksellers ;
and numberless beautiful illustrations of the rare plants introduced in rapid
succession at Kew, by the many travellers and navigators of the reign of
George the Third, were the result, works now deposited with Sir Joseph
Banks’s library at the British Museum, and which all who have examined
must acknowledge to be, for accuracy of delineation and colouring, elegance
of execution, as well as for physiological and anatomical truth, unexampled
at that period. Mr. Bauer was also appointed drawing-master to the Princess
Elizabeth: but he was a better philosopher than courtier, and his services,
which were given gratuitously, were soon dispensed with. At that time he
was occupied on the heath tribe, then in course of introduction, chiefly from
the Cape, by Menzies. Engravings were made from these drawings, and
Queen Charlotte and the princess used to colour them under his superin-
tendence. The engravings so coloured were afterwards sold by public auction,
with other of Her Majesty’s effects. Towards the end of the last century,
Mr. Bauer commenced his illustrations of orchideous plants, since published
by Dr. Lindley. He subsequently turned his attention to the diseases in
corn, in which, from his skill in the usé of the microscope, he made discoveries
of great importance to agriculture, and therefore to mankind; and we may
here state, that the only money which he received during his long life, beyond
the above-mentioned income, was fifteen guineas, which the editor of one of
the cheap publications of the present day sent to him for some short papers
on the smut in wheat.

In 1816, the late Sir Everard Home, being engaged in some researches
respecting the anatomical structure of the foot of the common house-fly, com-
municated the difficulties he experienced to Sir Joseph Banks, who im-
mediately introduced him to Mr. Bauer. This led to an intimacy of the most
lasting and most useful kind. Mr. Bauer solved every difficulty, and, at the
suggestion of Sir Everard, entered on a number of other anatomical enquiries,
the results of which were published by Sir Everard in the T’ransactions of the
Royal Society. The most remarkable of these were his dissections and
drawings of the common red earthworm, the lampreys, conger eel, Mexican
Proteus, metamorphosis of the tadpole, generations of oysters and muscles,
process of incubation from the egg to the perfect chicken, the eye, structure
of brain, nerves, blood, lungs, urethra, and muscular fibre; some of which
labours have led to great improvements in the treatment of diseases, and con-
sequent alleviation of human suffering; and all display an unrivalled degree of
skill, perseverance, and philosophical acumen, sufficient to have conferred on
him the highest fame, had such been his aim. At the suggestion of Sir
Everard Home, George the Fourth resolved to establish a botanical museum
at Kew, which was to be intrusted to Mr. Bauer. The house now belonging
to the King of Hanover was purchased for this purpose; the shelyes were
prepared, all the botanical books in the king’s library were to be removed
there, and some had, in, fact, been sent down, when, unfortunately, a dispute
arose respecting the land, to which the Woods and Forests laid claim; and
some artillery waggons driving off with the bookcases gave Mr. Bauer the
first intimation that the plan had been abandoned. About this period, Mr.
Bauer made his superb drawings of the Rafflésia Arnéldw (the plant of which
a model in wax is preserved at the rooms of the Horticultural Society.) He
still continued his delineations of Kew plants, and, latterly, more especially of
the ferns published by Sir William Hooker. He, at the same time, directed
his attention to many microscopical researches, such as the structure of
cotton, flax, and wool, the hairs of the various races of men, as well as of many
animals, the red snow of Sir John Ross; and, though little known to the
public, he had so well established his reputation amongst the select in every
walk of science, that rarely, indeed, would any man of science or any traveller
of eminence pass through London without visiting him, and no one returned

188 Obituary : — Daniel Ellis. -

otherwise than gratified and instructed. Of Mr. Bauer, indeed, it has been
truly said, “ that nothing prevented his acquiring an extraordinary degree of
fame, except his remarkably unobtrusive modesty — he worked rather for the
credit of others, than for his own.”’

Mr. Bauer continued, up to a late period, his microscopic researches and
drawings ; but, unwilling to risk the chance of leaving any work unfinished,
he at last determined to rest, and to attempt no more. Seated near his mi-
croscope, which long use had made almost essential to his happiness, he spent
his hours in re-examining what his pencil had so admirably perpetuated, and
reviewed, in the monuments of his labour, the history of his life. His was,
indeed, a life of incessant activity and usefulness. The motives which
stimulate common men never influenced him. Vanity, selfishness, and il-
liberality were wholly foreign to his disposition ; and that his innocent labours
had spared him from all self-reproach and remorse, his serenity, his cheerful
resolve to abide his time in peace, and his final departure from this world
under circumstances the most consolatory, full of resignation, faith, and hope,
and free from sufferings, save the increasing debilities of old age, sufficiently
prove. (Atheneum, Dec. 26. 1840.)

Daniel Ellis, E'sq., F.R.S.E., §c.—It is with much regret that we announce
the death of Daniel Ellis, Esq., which happened on Sunday the 17th inst.,
at his house in Inverleith Row, after an illness of ten days’ duration.

To the scientific world, Mr. Ellis has been long very favourably known, as
the author of two volumes illustrative of an enquiry into the changes induced
on atmospheric air by the germination of seeds, the vegetation of plants, and
the respiration of animals; a work which, m tracing some most Interesting
analogies between the animal and vegetable kingdoms, presents a rare specimen
of fidelity in collecting and recording the observations and discoveries of
others, and of ingenuity in supplying the deficiencies of their investigations,
and in reconciling their apparent contradictions, by original experimental re-
searches and accurate philosophical analysis and induction. He was the author
also of the articles on Vegetable Anatomy and Vegetable Physiology in the
Supplement to the sixth edition of the Hncyclopedia Britannica, as well as of
other memoirs on topics connected with these subjects, all eminently distin-
guished by the same spirit of candour, discrimination and scientific genius.
[One of these articles appeared in the Gardener’s Magazine, vol. xv., entitled,
“ Description of a Plant Case, for growing Plants without fresh Supplies of
Water and Air.”

Mr. Ellis was born in Gloucestershire. He was educated to the medical
profession in London, where he enjoyed, and profited by, the able mstructions
of Dr. Babington in Medicine, Mr. Cline in Surgery, Dr. Haighton in Physio-
logy, and Mr. (afterwards Sir Astley) Cooper in Anatomy. He subsequently
served for some years as a medical and regimental officer in the Essex cavalry ;
with this regiment he proceeded to Scotland, on the occasion of some dis-
turbances connected with the Scotch militia, and was for some time quar-
tered in the West of Scotland, whence he proceeded with his regiment to
Ireland, where he served towards the close of the rebellion. .The regiment
having been disbanded after its return to England, he shortly afterwards came
to reside in Scotland, and about 1801 attended some of the medical lectures
in the University of Glasgow, particularly those of Professor Jeftray on
Anatomy and Physiology, to which he often afterwards referred with great
satisfaction. At Glasgow he took a medical degree, with a view to set-
tling as a physician at Cheltenham. Circumstances having occurred which
induced him to give up this intention, Mr. Ellis subsequently came to Edin-
burgh, in the prosecution of his medical and scientific pursuits; and, hay-
ing entered the Medical Society, he was in 1806 chosen one of its annual
presidents. In that office he was associated with the late Dr. John Gordon,
with whom he formed the most intimate friendship. On the premature death
of Dr. Gordon, in 1818, his friends looked to Mr. Ellis, who was at the time
upon the Continent, as the person best qualified to do justice to the character

Obituary : — Daniel Ellis. 189

and scientific labours of that amiable man and distinguished anatomist and
physiologist ; and the elegant biographical memoir of Dr. Gordon, published
by Mr. Ellis in 1823, sufficiently attests the correctness of this judgment and
the warmth of his attachment to his deceased friend. This memoir he in-
scribed to Dr. Thomson, with whom his intimacy with Dr. Gordon had early
made him acquainted, and with whem he ever afterwards continued in habits
of the most cordial friendship, founded on mutual respect and regard. Another
gentleman with whom Mr. Ellis, at an early period of his residence in Edin-
burgh, had much intercourse, and whose friendship he highly valued, was the
late Dr. John Murray, to whose amiable personal character and eminent
talents as a teacher and cultivator of chemical science, he took the oppor-
tunity of paying a very elegant and most merited tribute in his memoir of Dr.
Gordon. Mr. Alexander Cowan of Valleyfield, and Mr. James Jardine, civil
engineer, were also among the earliest of Mr. Ellis’s Edinburgh acquaintances,
and in their society he ever afterwards took a peculiar pleasure, as recalling
many agreeable recollections.

Having resolved on abandoning the medical profession, Mr. Ellis turned
his attention to the study of agriculture, and was thus led to the more particular
consideration of the economy of the vegetable kingdom, a subject which dur-
ing the remainder of his life afforded him at once a leading scientific pursuit
and an elegant recreation. The interest he took in the formation of the Hor-
ticultural Garden was manifest by the selection of his place of residence in its
immediate vicinity ; and his continued zeal for its improvement is well known
to the members of the Horticultural Society, and duly appreciated by them.

Though of an unobtrusive, or, in truth, of a retiring, disposition, Mr. Ellis
possessed in an eminent degree the qualities calculated to render his society
attractive. His countenance was the index of his kind and joyous heart. His
manners were distinguished by gentleness and urbanity, and his conversation
was at all times agreeable and instructive, such indeed as might be looked for
in a man of extensive and varied scientific acquirements. But the predomi-
nant feature in the character of Mr. Ellis was the warm and ever active bene-
volence of his disposition. No proposal failed to excite a lively interest in
his breast that affected the happiness of the human race, that promised to
increase its intelligence, or to promote its comfort ; whether it came in the
humble form of a contrivance for economising the fuel or for improving the
fare of the artisan, or in the more dazzling shape of a project for approxi-
mating distant regions through the agency of steam-navigation, or for putting
a stop to the African slave trade, through the civilising influence of commerce.
No one, in truth, was ever more thoroughly under the influence of the prin-
ciple, that, being a man, he should account nothing alien from him in which
mankind is interested. Nor was Mr. Ellis a mere speculative philanthropist.
Whatever plan or institution seemed to him calculated to advance philan-
thropic objects, he was ever ready, liberally, but unostentatiously, to assist in
organising and maintaining.

The same dispositions which rendered Mr. Ellis so zealous for the general
happiness of mankind, could not fail to lead him to take a warm interest in
the welfare of those among whom he lived. Accordingly, to no one more
than to him did his friends feel pleasure in communicating any event of an
agreeable nature that had occurred to themselves or their companions, assured

’ that their own feelings would meet with a cordial response.

A zealous friend of civil and religious liberty, Mr. Ellis most heartily re-
joiced in every triumph which was gained on behalf of these causes at home
or abroad. If, at any time, the habitual equanimity of his disposition gave
way to an involuntary burst of indignation, it was in speaking of measures
detrimental to popular rights, or to freedom of conscience. But, while feeling
very intensely, and expressing himself, on every suitable occasion, very de-
cidedly, on political matters, Mr. Ellis’s kindness of nature rendered him
incapable of harbouring any animosity towards those who differed from him
in opinion on these subjects; and, accordingly, though his friendships

190 Obituary : — John Cowham Parker.

lay chiefly among those entertaining opinions on these matters corresponding
with his own, he was ready to cooperate with all, in measures of public
utility or beneficence.

The qualities which we have thus feebly endeavoured to portray were
rendered particularly conspicuous to his friends during the latter years of his
life, by the manner in which he supported a long continuance of infirm health
and considerable bodily suffering, preserving, throughout, the same cheerful-
ness and the same interest in public affairs, in the welfare of his friends, and
in the progress of scientific knowledge, which had been so prominent features
of his character in his days of vigour and health. From the buoyancy of his
spirits, the readiness with which he entered into the feelings of the young,
and the sanguine views he took of the progress of human improvement, few of
his friends, we believe, were aware that Mr. Ellis had, at the time of his
death, reached the sixty-ninth year of his age.

During the last twenty years of his life, Mr. Ellis had the good fortune to
enjoy the domestic society of two female relatives, whose kindred tastes and
dispositions rendered his home a source of enjoyment to himself, and en-
hanced its attractions to his friends; and whose unwearied attentions most
materially contributed to soothe the sufferings to which his ailments subjected
him in his latter years. To the feelings which they, and his other attached
relatives and friends, must experience on the present occasion, we can offer
no more consolatory reflection than that which is so beautifully expressed in
the following language of his own : —

“ There is a redeeming grace in virtuous sorrow, which lightens the gloom
of affliction, and disposes the mind to accept with thankfulness the hopes
and consolations which religion and reason supply. And as time removes to
a greater distance the events which troubled the soul, we look back upon them
with less and less emotion, till at length they become so softened to our view,
as no longer to agitate our feelings, “but awaken only that hallowed remem-
brance which sweetly stirs the affections, and purifies and exalts the heart.”
(Scotsman, Jan. 27. 1841.)

On the 28th of January, 1841, died at Hull, aged 67, John Cowham
Parker, Esq., an alderman and eminent merchant of that place, chairman of
the Dock Company there, and one of Her Majesty’s Justices of the Peace for
the East Riding of Yorkshire, &c. To Mr. Parker; the Hull Botanic
Garden, which was opened in 1812, a few years after that of Liverpool, may
be said in great measure to have owed its existence; for, though the idea of
such an institution at Hull was suggested to him by Mr. Spence, it was in
consequence of Mr. Parker’s influence and exertions in obtaining subscribers
that the garden was set on foot ; and its subsequent prosperity was mainly
attributable to the unwearied attention which, in spite of the other urgent
calls on his time, he fora long series of years devoted to its financial and
scientific interests. No one could well be a more ardent lover of plants, or a
more zealous practical horticulturist, than Mr. Parker, or hold forth a more
instructive example of how happily these tastes can assimilate with and soothe
the cares of a life engaged in weighty public and private duties: and few
things could be more exhilarating to one attached to the same pursuits, than
to find him, as did his now lamenting old friend who pens these lines, when
paying a visit to him at his country house at Hornsea in 1834, as busily en-
gaged in his garden, pruning and planting with his own hands, as if gardening -
had been the sole occupation of his life.

Whether as a chief founder of the Botanic Garden, an active and most
impartial magistrate, or one of the most warmhearted, generous, and friendly
of men, the memory of Mr. Parker will be deservedly cherished in Hull,
where his loss to the public will not be easily supplied, and to a numerous
deeply grieving family, and a widely extended circle of friends, is irreparable.

THE

GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,
APRIL, 1841.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Art. I. A Gardening Visit to Paris, from June 28. to August 16.
1840. By the ConpucTor. ;

WE went to Paris by Brighton, Dieppe, Rouen, and St. Ger-
mains, and returned by St. Germains, Rouen, Havre, and South-
ampton. The health of one of our party being the principal
object of pursuit, we did not see so many gardens or other
objects as in former years, during the same space of time. We
took scarcely any notes, but our impressions were not the less
vivid; and we shall give, first, the general results of those im-
pressions, and, next, what may be called our personal narrative.
We first saw Paris in July and August, 1815, remaining
there, at that time, above a month, and seeing every thing that
was then to be seen by a stranger. We subsequently passed
some time in Paris in the spring and autumn of 1819, on our
way to, and return from, Switzerland and Italy; and again, as
appears in a former volume of this Magazine, in the autumn
and winter of 1828-29. We are thus enabled to speak of the
general progress of improvement in Paris during the last twenty-
five years, and it affords us the very greatest pleasure to state
that it has been far beyond our most sanguine expectations.
Since 1828, indeed, the improvement in almost every thing that
meets the eyes of a stranger is quite astonishing; and a person
who carries in his mind Paris as it was previously to 1830, can
scarcely form an idea of what it actually is in 1840. The fun-
damental cause of all this improvement is intercommunication,
which, as Dr. Channing has said of cooperatioh, may be con-
sidered as one of the characteristic features of the present day,
and, in a certain sense indeed, a result of cooperation. The
intercommunication of authors and artists at home in conse-
quence of the formation of clubs and societies, and their assem-
blage at conversaziones, has rubbed off those asperities or
peculiarities which formerly used to render them unfit for
general society, and rooted out that growling snarlish disposition
which led to mutual depreciation and abuse. Formerly every
author, every artist, and every naturalist, thought every other
1841.— IV. 3d Ser. )

192 ' Gardening Visit to Paris,

author, artist, and naturalist, who wrote and practised in the
same line as himself, to be his rival or his enemy, and considered
himself, if not entitled to abuse him, at least to be acting a pru-
dent part in shunning his company. At present, authors, artists,
and naturalists, of the same class, associate together for mutual
improvement; and those who, in consequence of greater natural
genius, superior education, or from being more fortunate, take
the lead of the others, are no longer envied or decried by any
kind of indulgence of bad feeling, but rather looked on with
satisfaction, as doing honour to the profession to which they
belong in common.

The same result which has taken place among individuals in
Britain, in consequence of intercommunication, is, without doubt,
taking place between nations throughout the world, in conse-
quence of commercial intercourse, curiosity, and the propaga-
tion of opinions. The result is more striking in France, from
the great enmity which formerly subsisted between us, the French
being then, as Mr. Fox observed in the House of Commons,
“ our natural enemy,” and partly from her proximity; but princi-
pally, we believe, from something in the French character which
has always, as far as mind and manners are concerned, kept
them at the head of European civilisation. However, be the
cause what it may, it is certain that the mass of the people of
both nations entertain the most humanised and friendly feelings
for each other, and the strongest wish that these feelings should
never give way to others less in accordance with human happi-
ness and refinement. One act on the part of France would
greatly tend to promote friendly intercourse between the two
countries, viz. the establishment of a cheap postage, like that of
Britain. How many seeds, grafts, roots, drawings, manuscripts,
printed papers, and other objects connected with gardening
or general improvement, could we not send to the different
persons that we received civilities from while in Paris, that
would be of real use to the country! So rapid is the post
between London and Paris, that cuttings for striking, or scions
for taking buds from, might be wrapped up in oil paper, or
coated over with mastic, so as to arrive in a perfectly sound
state. The transmission of such cuttings and scions alone, to
say nothing of seeds, roots, and papers, would surely be a con-
siderable advantage to both countries. The free transmission of
small parcels, by coach, waggon, or steam-boat, is also an object
which we think ought to engage the attention of the govern-
ments of both countries. ‘There surely can be no reason in the
nature of things why a parcel should cost more when transmitted
from London to Paris than from London to Dublin; and yet
the difference in the charges is so great, that, in the case of
sending books to Paris, or receiving them from that city, it

Jrom June 28. to August 16. 1840. 193

amounts to a prohibition on single articles such as this Maga-
zine, exclusively altogether of duty. We do most sincerely
hope that at no distant time the two nations will, as to all
matters of mutual intercourse, become as one; and we even
hope that the French system of weights and measures, including
the centigrade thermometer, and the decimal division of money
(shillings being rendered of the same value as francs), will be
adopted in this country.

Paris. ‘The general appearance of the people has improved
in dress, and this is more particularly obvious in the drivers of
Jiacres, and other public voztures. ‘The carriages themselves are
also much better; and the circumstance of a tariff of charges
being fixed up in a conspicuous place within every public car-
riage, prevents all disputes with the driver. ‘The arrangement
among the omnibus companies, by which, for six sous paid to
the first omnibus, you can pass from one omnibus to another till
you have reached your place of destination, the course necessary
for which may have led you half over Paris, is a singular
instance of cooperation ; and the printed police regulations for
omnibuses are perfect in their kind. ‘They are on no account
to gallop; to walk in going through markets, very narrow
streets, or over bridges; and always to stand still while any
passenger gets in till he is comfortably seated, &c. When one
gets into a London omnibus, he can never tell what may
happen; there is nothing to hinder the driver from racing, or
galloping, or crowding the omnibus with more than the fixed
number, or from moving off while the passenger is getting out, so
that he with difficulty keeps himself from being thrown down.
In short, the state of the omnibuses in London, as compared
with those in Paris, is utterly disgraceful to our police; and the
same may be said of our stage-coaches and cabriolets. In truth,
our police is not sufficiently comprehensive; and we cannot help
thinking that, if a commission were sent to Paris to examine
and report on all the police and municipal regulations of that
capital, the result could not fail to afford us many useful ideas
for improvement.

The Spirit of the People appeared to us as much changed as
their general appearance. ‘The great desire of all classes seemed
to be to accumulate property. Every person is more or less
engaged in some kind of commerce, manufacture, trade, or
pursuit. On looking down on Paris from the railroad to Ver-
sailles, as many tall chimneys of steam-engines meet the eye as
were to be seen twenty years ago in Birmingham or Newcastle.
We could hardly believe our eyes when we saw them. If any
person had predicted such a thing in 1815, he would have been
thought mad. This spirit of industry is admirably fostered by

the laws and the government. Jn the first place, hereditary titles
0 2

194 Gardening Visit to Paris,

being abolished, less value is set on that kind of distinction, and
by consequence more on the solid advantages of wealth. Next,
the officers or servants of government, from the king down-
wards, are not paid with unreasonably large salaries, and there
are very few undeserved pensions. Finally, the king, both as
a king and as an individual, is remarkably economical. If
there is any London nurseryman or market-gardener who wishes
to raise all manner of hothouse productions, and construct hot-
houses and pits, at the least possible expense, let him go to Ver-
sailles, and examine the forcing-houses in the potagerie, or to
Fontainebleau, and see M. Souchet’s greenhouse. ‘This excel-
lent king wisely spends what he has to spare in improving the
national buildings, and in filling them with works of art; and
the thousands which cther sovereigns would consume in plea-
sures which the day after leave scarcely a trace behind, he con-
solidates in monuments which will remain an ornament and
benefit to the nation for future ages. The effect of money spent
in this manner is incomparably superior to that spent in luxu-
rious display ; because it immediately goes into the pockets of a
more intellectual and sober class of men, such as artists, masons,
carpenters, &c. ‘This personal character of the king appears to
us to have had a most beneficial effect upon the people; from the
poorest servants, who place their money in the savings banks
to an extent which, as noted by the French papers, seems enor-
mous, to the capitalist, who engages in railroads, steamboats, or
other branches of speculation or industry.

The Education of the People, which was checked or diseased
during the reign of priestcraft, is now comparatively free and
spreading, and is, with time and freedom of commerce, all that
is wanting to render France perhaps the first nation in Europe ;
because, whatever the British nation may be at present, from its
superabundance of capital, whenever the governments of other
nations are equally secure as our own, capital will emigrate. To

one point in general education, France has not yet arrived; which

is, to render it compulsory on parents to send their children to
school till they have acquired a sufficient knowledge of reading,
writing, and arithmetic. ‘This, however, will be attained in
time, when it is better known how well the compulsory law works

in Germany. One excellent law exists, which it would be well

to introduce without delay into this country, which is, that no

young man can commence schoolmaster, no young woman go-
verness, and no lady set up a boarding-school, without a diploma,
or certificate of qualification, obtained after proper examination,
from a commission constituted on purpose by government.

The Expression of Opinion is much more free in France than —

in England. It is not that there is much difference of opinion

between parallel classes of men in the two countries, but that in

ty
*.

Jiom June 28. to August 16. 1840. "195

France men are not afraid of stating their opinions either in con-
versation or in books. Here it is necessary to consider what
opinions are marketable; and, in the case of an author, for
example, what will sell. The real opinions of persons in France,
except perhaps in politics, are seldom either disguised on the
one hand, or, when expressed, taken any notice of on the other.
In short, with a police incomparably more rigid than ours, and
even, as it said, with a system of espionage, the expression of
thought is much more free in France than in England.

The Asphalte Pavements are among the most striking external
improvements in Paris, and in fact they are operating a revolu-
tion in all the towns in France. The surface is as smooth as
that of a board, and it has a soft agreeable feeling to the feet,
quite different from that of walking on the smoothest stone, and
which we can only compare to walking on a carpet. In some of
the very narrowest of the streets there are footpaths of this
material with narrow kerb-stones, which, to save room, are pro-
jected over the gutter, as in fig. 23.;
and in the Place de la Concorde there
is a smooth continuous surface of as-
phalte, without a single seam or inequa- SK
lity, upwards of 50 ft. broad, by 200 or Fig. 23. Projecting Kerb-stone.
300 feet long. A greater good to France, in the way of clean-
liness and comfort, than this asphalte, can hardly be conceived.
The only thing against asphalte for garden walks is its dark
colour, and in England its expense; but in England it has this
advantage, that the climate not being so hot, it may be used for
covering roofs. It has been tried for barn floors, and will make
most comfortable flooring for cottages both in France and
England.

The Butchers’ Shops of London are generally considered the
first in the world, not only for excellent meat, but for cleanli-
ness and order. In1815 and 1819, those of Paris were bad in
both these respects, but they are now, in point of excellence of
meat, not far inferior to those of London, and in point of clean-
liness and order superior. In short, next to the asphalte, these
butchers’ shops made on us the strongest impression.

The Streets have been widened, and many new ones built; and,
with respect to the narrow streets, plans are fixed on by the
municipal government, by which, when any house in a nar-
row street is pulled down, it cannot be built up again exactly in
the same place, but must be set back, and have a foot pavement
in front. We saw this done in several places, and were informed
by an intelligent architect, M. Daly, the Editor of the Revue
Générale @ Architecture et des Travaux Publics, that arrangements

were made for this being done not only in Paris but in every
03 y

196 Gardening Visit to Paris,

city in France, without any compensation being made for the
ground given by the proprietors of the houses. Here then is
a cause in operation, which, in the course of a generation, will
render France the most beautiful country of towns and cities in
Europe; because, it must be recollected, the elevations of
houses on the Continent are not, like ours, liable to be dis-
figured by coal smoke, and, in consequence of the bright sunshine,
the shadow of every architectural member is distinctly marked.
One improvement the streets of Paris are susceptible of, and
that is gently elevated crossings for foot passengers ; and, if our
wooden pavement should oe found durable, its introduction,
more especially in court-yards and in narrow streets, will be an
immense improvement, in short, as great with respect to the
carriage ways, as the asphalte is with respect to the footways.

Street Houses built within the last ten years are much improved
in elevation. Without diminishing their magnitude, and those
grandiose proportions introduced by Louis XW the elevations
are enriched by architraves or other facings to the doors and
windows, by string courses or bands indicating the different
floors, and in many instances even by sculptural ornaments,
finishing always at top with avery bold cornice. As an example,
we may refer to la Rue de l’Arcade, which is now in great part
built; but there are street houses on a much larger scale in other
places. We have been informed that the internal arrangement
of these houses is greatly improved, and that separate entrances
to the principal rooms for servants, servants’ stairs, dressing-
rooms to bedrooms, and waterclosets, are as common to newly
built first-rate houses in Paris as they are to newly built first-
rate houses in London.

The Public Buildings are in many instances undergoing im-
provements, of which, not being finished, we cannot very well
judge. Perhaps the most perfect public monument is the Mag-
dalen, which is finished externally, and nearly so within. In-
teriorly it is ill adapted for a church, and there is no place where
a bell tower can be placed without destroying the effect of the
edifice. We trust, therefore, that it will ultimately become a
depository of statues, or employed for some other analogous
national purpose. ‘The Hotel d’Orsay is a quadrangle of apart-
ments for government commissions and councils, which may be
compared to our Somerset House, as to magnitude. There is
much to admire both externally and internally, and some things
also which are obvious faults. For example, in the great central
projection, the windows of the front elevation of the principal
floor are lofty, with arched heads, but the-windows of the two
ends are small rectangular openings in twe ranges, indicating

two stories; so that, when this central projection is viewed at the —

angle, it presents a manifest absurdity, and we are at a loss to

Srom June 28. to August 16. 1840. 197

know whether the room at the angle is of the height indicated
by the large windows in front; or whether the upper part of the
large windows is false, and there are in reality two rooms one
over another, as indicated by the two rows of windows in the
end. In the interior, some of the rooms have ceilings which
appear to us rather exaggerated in point of ornament, and es-
pecially in the depth of the beams. On the whole, however,
with the exception of the point alluded to in the exterior eleva-
tion, and the troduction of some cornices in it instead of string
courses, this building gave us great satisfaction. A square
building with an arcade below, with subdued string courses,
and a bold projecting cornice at top, on the banks of the Seine,
a little further up the river than the Pont d’Austerlitz, and the
elevation of a school or college close by St. Sulpice, also pleased
us. ‘The attention paid to public manufactories in several parts
of Paris and the suburbs was also gratifying; for example, the
Gasworks on the road to Passy. The termini of the railroads
at Paris, Pecq, and especially at Versailles, are not surpassed
by anyin England. The waiting-room at Versailles, in the style
of Louis XIV., is most agreeably proportioned, and richly and
elegantly decorated. The archway of the Barriére de |’ Etoile is
certainly the grandest monumental building in Paris, next to the
Madeleine; and from many parts of the neighbourhood, and
especially from the elevated line of the railroad to Versailles, it
has a truly magnificent effect. The obelisk of Luxor, 3300
years old, and the fountains put up in the Place de la Concorde,
are grand objects. We admire on the pedestal of the obelisk a
gilt representation on one side showing the manner in which it
was taken down in Egypt, and another representation on the
other side showing the manner in which it was raised up in the
Place de la Concorde, under the direction of M. Lebas, in
October, 1836, in the presence of the king and upwards of
3000 spectators. A copious account of the taking down of this
obelisk in Egypt, and of its erection in Paris, will be found in
the Architectural Magazine, vol. iv. p. 464.; and an elevation
and description of a plan for completing the summit of the obe-
lisk, with a bronze cap, in vol. v. p. 560. The bronze cap was
put on, and struck by lightning, and the obelisk now remains
with a mutilated summit, as indicated in the shaded part of jie.
24. The fountains are circular basins, with candelabra in the
centre, from which the water falls; and these candelabra are
surrounded by immersed figures with their heads above water,
from trumpets or other objects held by which water is spouted
up into the lower basin of the candelabra. ‘The effect, to our
taste, is too turbulent and stormy; we should prefer seeing the
water spouted up by the figures only occasionally. A candelabrum
oO 4

198 Gardening Visit to Paris,

fountain in the centre of the Place de la
Bibliothéque appeared to us in better
taste, though not so abundantly supplied
with water. ‘There are five or six noble
fountains now erecting in the Champs
E’lysées ; and, as these and all the others
have an unlimited supply of water from
the Canal de lOure and the Canal St.
Martin, they will form perpetual orna-
ments of the greatest beauty, and pecu-
liarly refreshing to the sight during the
hot weather of the summer months. The
Place de la Concorde is surrounded by
columns of iron, fluted, bronzed, and gilt, =
for the purpose ef supporting lamps; but a@=qae=
these lamps are supported not on the ===s====
summit of the columns, which common gig 04 summit of the Obelisk
sense would dictate, but on rostra pro- of Luzor.
jecting from the columns about half-way up the shaft. The
columns therefore support the lamps by accident, or at all
events as secondary objects, and not as principals as we think
they ought to do. ‘These columns, in short, are much too large
in diameter and height for the situation they occupy, and by
comparison greatly diminish, in our opinion, the effect of the
obelisk, the fountains, and the groups of statues representing
the principal cities of France, the Chevaux de Marly, &c., which
form ornaments to this very interesting Place.

The Public Gardens of Paris, such as those of the Tuileries,
the Luxembourg, the Palais Royal, &c., are on the whole better
kept up than they were in 1828. ‘The best-kept public garden
in Paris appeared to us to be that of the Palais Royal. The
beds were richly stocked with flowers regularly placed, each
plant forming a large mass, and kept quite distinct, though nearly
touching the adjoining plant. The width of the bed admits only
of two rows, and there are always two plants of the same kind
placed opposite each other. ‘The number of kinds of plants
employed is, perhaps, not above a dozen, but they are finely
grown, and produce a most brilliant effect. All defects are
instantly supplied from the king’s garden at Monceau, which,

with that of the Palais Royal, is under the direction of M.

Schone, a native of Saxony, a most excellent gardener, and a
man of a thoroughly independent character; he reminded us of
our worthy friend, Mr. Anderson, of the Chelsea Garden. But
a very moderate sum, we understand, is allowed for keeping up
these gardens, and this perhaps may account for the meagre
state of the borders in those of the Tuileries. The public part
of the Garden of the Luxembourg is undergoing great changes

se
Me
i
y
;
y
a
a
fy

Jrom June 28. to August 16. 1840. 199

in some parts, and in others it is a mere nursery cf roses; but
there is a private garden attached to the house of the Duc de
Cazes, which is well stocked with flowers and very neatly kept.
The whole is under the direction of M. Hardy. The flower-
borders at Versailles were rich, but not so much so as those of
the Palais Royal, which were only equalled, as far as we could
observe, by those at Fontainebleau. The turf, where it is kept
watered, or where the soil is naturally somewhat moist, as in the
lower part of Versailles, the Trianon, the Palais Royal, and
the English garden at Fontainebleau, is close and green; and,
were greater care shown in the selection of the grass seeds, and
the same attention paid to watering and mowing as at present,
the turf of France would equal that of England. Indeed this
may be said to be the case in the Palais Royal. We may here
observe that in the grounds of M. Vilmorin at Verriéres the
Bromus praténsis, sown by itself, is found to make an excellent
close turf, and to remain of a dark green in the hottest summer
months, and on a dry sandy soil. ‘This is a fact of very great
value, and it is placed beyond all doubt by several acres of dry
sandy soil having been for some years entirely covered by this
grass at Barres, where M. Vilmorin raises his seeds. This
ought to be a valuable hint to rich proprietors in Australia.
Villas. France does not excel in this description of country
residences as compared with England, nor will this be the case
till her manufacturers and merchants have enriched themselves
sufficiently to be able to spare or to sink a part of their capital
in matters of taste and luxury. Nevertheless there are a few
villas belonging to wealthy citizens, and from these we are
enabled to speak of the state of public taste. In general the
houses of such villas are plain rectangular masses, displaying
scarcely any architectural skill or taste. They are deficient in
porticoes, terraces, balconies ; and there is a general sameness in
- the form and size of the windows. There is nothing in the ex-
terior of the building to indicate that one room within is larger
or better furnished than another, which ought to be the case if
possible in every dwelling-house; and more especially in those
built in the country, where the artist is never restrained for want
of room. ‘The glaring white of these villas is objectionable in a
picturesque point of view, and is even hurtful to the eyes when
we are near them; but this, to those who feel it to be a fault, is
easily remedied. All the villas in the neighbourhood of Paris
are in the same style; as far as we know there is not one which
displays any variety of Gothic, or any character, such as castle,
abbey, cottage, &c. ‘There are indeed Swiss cottages in the
grounds of Baron Rothschild at Surrene, and Baron Delessert
at Passy, and one or two English cottages on the road to Sevres ;
but these are chiefly to be considered as ornaments of villas

200 Gardening Visit to Paris,

rather than villas themselves. In the grounds of Parisian villas,
as compared with those of villas of the same extent in England,
there are too many walks; and in summer every part Is too
uniformly decorated with flowers in pots, more especially pelar-
goniums. In general the house is banked up with these pots, on
both the entrance and the lawn fronts; and not only are masses
of them placed round the trees, round clumps of shrubs, and in
the margins of borders and shrubberies, but the parapets of the
houses, the piers of boundary walls, and in short every place on
the boundary and within it where a flowerpot can be placed, is
covered with them. The effect of this, judging from our own feel-
ings, is a sameness which becomes tiresome from its pretence and
excitement. In walking through the grounds we find no part
which has really the appearance of country, for the continual
recurrence of the scarlet of the geraniums, and the petunias or
other showy flowers in pots, reminds us of greenhouses, bal-
conies, and the displays of flowers in the shops and cafés of Paris.
In the distribution of flowers in this manner there can, we should
think, be as little satisfaction to the distributer as to the observer ;
for the former, having no definite object to imitate, can have no
limit at which he should stop, and consequently can never feel
that his work is complete. The observer, in like manner, seeing
that the object is display of quantity, rather than of character,
finds nothing either great or touching in the effect produced.
He sees an immense number of flowers, which he knows to
belong to the greenhouse. A taste for that kind of rural sim-
plicity which is to be found in the grounds of English villas, is of
later growth in the human mind than a taste for a profuse dis-
play of flowers; but it will follow in due time, and then a great
portion of that care which is now given to plants in pots will be
transferred to gravel, turf, and trees and shrubs.

Horticulture has made obvious progress in the culture of
forced articles and stove fruits. Paris is as well supplied as -
London, during the winter, with asparagus, sea-kale, kidneybeans,
potatoes, &c., and better supplied with salads, including blanched
succory. Pine-apples and grapes are to be had in the fruit
shops every week in the year; the grapes, except for six weeks
of March and April, being preserved from the preceding year ;
but in the royal kitchen-garden at Versailles, and that of Baron
Rothschild at Surrene, and some others, grapes are cut fresh
from the trees throughout the whole of winter and spring. ‘This
is in part owing to the clear atmosphere of Paris during the
winter season, which enables them to ripen grapes under glass
in the beginning of April, and to the dry atmosphere which
admits of grapes ripened in November under glass hanging on
the vines till April or later. Pine-apples are abundantly supplied
throughout the year, and their culture at Versailles, at Baron

from June 28. to August 16. 1840. 201

Rothschild’s, and at Meudon, is at least equal to the best culture
in England. It will, perhaps, surprise some of our readers to
learn that in the places mentioned they are grown almost en-
tirely in heath soil, such as is used for Cape heaths in this
country. See M. Massy’s article on pine culture in p. 17.
In some cases this heath soil, which is nearly as dear about
Paris as it is about London, is mixed with leaf mould, or mould
from hotbed dung; but in no instance, we believe, is loam of any
kind added to it.

The following is the course of cultivation at Versailles
and Meudon. The crowns and suckers supplied from July to
April are put in small pots, and in the course of the months of
April or May they are planted in common garden soil on a bed
of hot dung, covered with sashes, such as are used during the
winter season for growing cabbage lettuce. In the month of
October these plants have acquired a large size, and made all
the growth necessary for the production of fruit. They are then
taken up, disrooted, potted in heath soil, and plunged in bark in
pits, where, in the course of the following spring and summer,
they produce their fruit. Or in some cases they are planted in
a layer of heath soil of about 14 in. in thickness. This layer is
placed on boards, and heated from below by fermented dung.
In some cases this layer, instead of being placed on boards, is
placed on the dung itself, and in that case the plants root into
it, are longer of coming into fruit, and produce fruit of a very
large size, particularly the New Providence and the Trinidad
pines, of which last there are several plants in the royal gardens
and at Surrene. Nothing astonished us more than the ex-
traordinary vigour of the fruiting plants in the free soil in pits,
the size of the fruit, and the admirable manner in which their
pips were swelled. In this situation the plants sometimes re-
main two or three years, during which time the principal side
suckers ripen fruit; and, if many suckers are wanted, the plants
after fruiting are cut down within a few inches of the ground,
when several suckers are thrown up from the root.. The plants
are supplied with abundance of water in the growing season, both
over the top and at the root, and the glasses are shut close
down between 2 and 3 o’clock, after watering, in order to raise
steam.

The Musa Cavendishzz and other dwarf species are cultivated,
and produce abundance of fruit; but it is not yet known how
far it will come into general demand in the fruit-shops of Paris.
It was remarked to us by M. Massy, the director-general of the
royal gardens of Versailles, St. Cloud, Meudon, &c., that when
the glass of pits and hothouses gets old and apparently some-
what decomposed or deranged in its structure, the plants beneath
it cease to thrive, and that the glass of some of the houses at

202 Gardening Visit to Paris,

Versailles, though not broken or cracked, was obliged to be re-
newed solely on that account.

The earliest grapes are forced in pits or in narrow frames of
unpainted boards nailed to stakes, with the joints caulked with
moss; and on these sashes are laid, and also made air-tight with
moss. Heat is supplied by linings of stable-dung, or by hot-
water pipes, or by earthenware tubes of smoke or heated air.
Where hot water is employed for heating upon the level system,
tubes of earthenware are used instead of metal, which are found
to answer perfectly, and to be a very great saving.

Floriculture. The passion for dahlias is as great about Paris as
it is about London, and we observed that whenever two stranger
gardeners met, their dahlias formed the engrossing subject.
Proprietors, as well as their gardeners, enter into competition,
not excepting the royal dukes. The quantity of showy flowers in
pots brought to the flower-markets, and displayed in the windows
and on the side-tables of the coffeehouses, far exceeds anything
of the kind to be seen in London, partly owing to the greater
demand for flowers in Paris, and partly owing to the greater
abundance of solar light. No pelargoniums are to be seen
grown rapidly to a large size like those of Mr. Cock of Chis-
wick, or Mr. Green, gardener to Lady Antrobus. Carnations
are grown to great perfection by Mon. Tripet Le Blanc in a
garden near the Invalids; and the best collection of tulips in
France is cultivated by the same highly respectable house.
Camellias are grown in large quantities for exportation to
America; and the Abbé Berleéze, a distinguished amateur, has
a collection of upwards of 600 sorts, which, when we saw them
in July, were in excellent health, and very handsome plants.
As there is a great demand for plants in pots to decorate rooms
in the winter season, heliotropes, lechenaultia, Phylica eri-
coldes, common mignonette, and other plants that flower for a
long period together and are nct difficult of culture, are trained
with single stems and round heads like miniature orange trees,
and for these there is a great demand, both in the royal palaces
and in the cafés, and in the private houses of the more wealthy.

Arboriculture, as compared with floriculture and horticulture,
is in a great measure stationary; but, in stating this, we must
not be understood to include the management of forests. The
fuel in universal use in France being wood, forest land is of far
greater value, proportionately to corn land or grass land, than it
is in Britain; and the management of the forests of the crown
being in the hands of scientific men regularly brought up to the
profession of forest-surveyors, the art may be considered as
undergoing constant improvements: Arboriculture as an art of
luxury, by which we mean the introduction of new kinds of
hardy trees and shrubs, or the employment of the more rare

Jrom June 28. to August 16. 1840. 203

and valuable sorts which are already in the country, in the
decoration of the grounds of villas, or in the royal parks and
pleasure-grounds, seems little attended to. Though there is
abundant space at Versailles, St. Cloud, Meudon, Neuilly, and
especially at Fontainebleau, nothing has been done in the way of
planting an arboretum, which would be a most useful and in-
structive ornament. ‘The nearest approach to this is a collection
in the Bois de Boulogne, which appears to have been recently
planted; but it is very deficient in species, and the plants are
either not named or numbered at all, or very erroneously
named. ‘The soil in the Bois de Boulogne is only fit for the
growth of pines, and a national pinetum might there be formed
with every prospect of success, as is evident from the growth made
by three or four species already there. With a view to forest
culture, great exertions have been made in different directions,
and by different persons. The late M. Delamarre, author of
Traité Pratique de la Culture des Pins, and a proprietor in the
neighbourhood of Rouen, left his extensive estate and pine
plantations to the Society of Agriculture of Paris, a committee
of whom direct the continuation of the experiments commenced
by M. Delamarre. But, perhaps, the most varied and extensive
experiments, with a view to forest culture, made by any indi-
vidual in France, are those by M. Vilmorin at Barres, of which
some account is given in a work entitled De ? Agriculture des
Gatinais, 8c.; par M. A. Puvis (reviewed in a former Volume).
The greater number of kinds of American oaks and of European
pines have here been sown in masses upwards of twenty years
ago; and, though the soil is poor sand, they have now become
handsome trees. At Barres, as in the Bois de Boulogne, in
the Hackney Arboretum, and in the grounds of villas in the
neighbourhood of London, the most rapid-growing, the straight-
est and most erect in stem, the most symmetrical in general
form, the most graceful in the disposition of its branches, the
best adapted for producing timber and for growing on a poor,
dry, sandy soil, is the Quércus palastris. ‘The next best species
is the Q. coccinea, which, in point of foliage, may be considered
as Q. palistris on a larger scale; but the tree is of somewhat
slower growth, the trunk not so straight and erect, and the
branches less symmetrically and gracefully disposed. Quércus
rubra, which differs from Q. coccinea in having the leaves much
less cut, is found, both at Barres and in the Bois de Boulogne,
to grow much more rapidly than Q. sessiliflora ; and though the
timber is of little value as such, and would not be worth grow-
ing in England, yet in France it is valuable as fuel. It is
singular, that neither at Barres nor in the Bois de Boulogne are
there any specimens of Q. alba; the reason assigned for which
is, that the acorns lose their vitality during their passage from

204 Substitute for Fland-Glasses,

America. The tree, however, thrives well in the climate of
Paris, as appears by specimens in M. Vilmorin’s grounds at
Verriéres. Q. tinctoria Willd. is next to Q. rubra in point of
vigorous growth, and is expected to save France several millions
sent to America for its bark.

(To be continued.)

Art. II. A Substitute for Hand-Glasses, and a more economical
Mode of using Glass in Forcing-Houses suggested. By A.
ForsyTH. ,

I wave often felt sorry in passing by some spirited amateur’s
garden, to see his little lean-to roofed hothouse glazed up to
the apex, with two glazed gable ends, and a yard-or more of
upright glass in front. If this gentleman is rich enough to be
possessed of two hothouses, you generally find them in separate
compartments of the garden, with glazed doors in the glazed
gable ends of each; or, if by any chance they do adjoin, you
may rely upon finding them divided by a glazed partition. I
wonder these schemers never thought of glazing the back wall to
catch the northern lights, not only the aurora borealis, but also
‘‘the rays of the bright polar star:” the first is certainly a very
fickle and capricious source of light, and far from fervent; and
the polar star, though a shining light, is not by any means a
burning one, yet makes amends for the feebleness of its beams
by the constancy of its services: for, though the sun himself
may vary, and the moon change, the polar star will assuredly
face the frosty north, like the point of the magnetic needle, day
and night, alone and unalterable, amid the mutability of all
things sublunary and celestial. However ridiculous this foolery
may appear of glazing the dead north wall, it cannot be denied
that in the shape of hand-glasses it is practised to the fullest
extent in almost every garden in Britain.

Before I enter upon the immediate subject of this paper, allow
me to remind the proprietors of such houses as those above de-
scribed, that they have used as much materials to make one bad
hothouse as would with judicious arrangement have made two
good ones of the same size: but, as I have already written on
this subject (Gardener's Magazine, vol. xvi. p. 229.), I need not
now repeat what I have said. The actual measurement of a
common square hand-glass is seven square feet of glass to light
and shelter two and one fourth square feet of ground, being a
little more than three times as much as is really necessary ; for
I think few will dispute that cucumber or cauliflower plants,
when they happen to be placed in a common melon frame (the
surface of the glass and that of the soil in the frame being nearly

and a more economical Mode of using Glass. 205

parallel and only a few inches apart) have sufficient light with
a square yard of glass roof over every square yard of soil. Con-
tradict this who can. I have already in the Gardener’s Magazine,
vol. xiii. p. 62., shown the suburban gentleman how to econo-
mise his culinary and fruit department, and to make two acres
produce as much as three acres do now, and of better quality;
or in other words by a different arrangement of his crops, and a
little expense in trellising over his walks that now produce only
weeds and mud, this hitherto uninteresting department of a
suburban residence will become not only a profitable, but a
grateful and flowery promenade; and, since it adds one third to
the produce of his property, as good as gives him another
garden half as large as that which he now possesses. I have
also shown him how to collect his garden structures in a group,
thereby saving much of the space they now occupy, and much
labour in attending them, when so widely scattered as they now
generally are; and, as one hothouse will help to heat ancther
closely adjoining it, one half of the fuel will serve, if properly
applied. Add, also, that much less than half the expense in
building materials will erect the group stronger and better than
the broken mass is at present in most gardens.

I now offer, with the glass used in the common hand-light
above described, to roof more than three times the extent of
cucumber, cauliflower, or propagating bed, that that hand-glass
now covers, and that too in a far more substantial and Jess in-
tricate manner, the lights being simply a square or quarry of cast
iron of the annexed form (jigs. 25. to 27. p. 207.); and though
the hand-glass can only be used to shelter dwarf crops on a hori-
zontal or slightly inclined plane, yet the quarry lights will not
Only light and shelter the same squares that hand-glasses are now
used for, but are also convertible into.a roof adapted to the
culture of any exotic usually grown in British gardens, and, like
tiles or mosaics, may be used to roof or fill in any right-angied
figure, from the fancy awning over the ladies’ own pet bed of
double early blue and white scented violets, which is, perhaps,
as near the earth as glass ever need be placed, up to the lofty
ridge and furrow roof which you so much admired at Counsellor
Harrison’s and elsewhere.

To the market-gardeners around London these quarry lights,
instead of hand-glasses or bell-glasses, would effect an immense
saving, were it only in the space of ground they take up to stand
on when idle, and in the labour they take to carry them by hand
from place to place. Hand-glasses are a very fragile and awk-
ward freight, either for cart or waggon; whereas these quarries “
will ride safely at the rate of fifty in a wheelbarrow, and this
fifty will only occupy a cubic space of 25 in. on the side or
about 150 in a solid yard. When the season of one crop is

206 Substitute for Hand-Gllasses,

over the market-gardener could convert in one summer day that
which yesterday was the roof of his early vinery into a field of
hand-glasses for gherkins. ‘This is to be effected by having small
frames composed of four sawed boards, tarred (not painted), in
the form of a one-light box. (fig. 25.) Wood is cheaper and
stronger than glass for uprights, not to mention that by this
arrangement the market-gardener has three glasses for one; and
by having all his glazed structures on this uniform plan he would
be enabled to force many small crops from plants in the open
ground, such as rhubarb, &c., by placing hot litter between the
beds, and something like a tulip awning, but stronger, for the
quarries to rest upon after the manner of a span roof over the
crowns of the plants. I give this as an example of what might
be done with a set of the quarries that could only be spared for
thirty or forty days; but a peach-house, for example, is some-
times stripped of its glass to ripen and flavour the fruit: and if
the lights are large and clumsy, as they generally are, and cal-
culated to fit between no rafters but their own, they are perhaps
stored in the sheds till the forcing season commences again, for
a period of time during which they might have protected plants
or matured fruit of melons or the like, of as much value as their
crop of peaches. But I need say no more to recommend the
quarries; for the value must be sufficiently obvious to every one,
of a uniform article of durable materials, so perfectly at the com-
mand of the proprietor and the practical man, exposing so small
a surface requiring paint, and, though firm and permanent in its
nature, as portable as a herdsman’s tent.

Gentlemen will build plant structures more liberally and
with greater confidence when they can rest assured that the
great body of the materials used will descend as heirlooms
unimpaired to their children’s children, though it may have
changed places as often and as easily as the cards of a pack,
and like them also by various arrangements have played many
different games,

Now for their economy. I have known good lights, made of
deal and kept well painted, begin to decay after ten years’ hard
forcing; yet it is but justice to state that I have seen others,
under very different circumstances, attain the patriarchal age of
four score; but from calculations that I have carefully made
from the extensive and beautiful sets of iron lights at Syon,
compared with the wooden ones there and at other places, I am
convinced that at the end of twenty years iron quarry lights will
be found one half cheaper than wood ; and whilst the latter would
by that time get very tender over hard forcing, if not quite rotten,
the iron quarry well glazed and painted would be ready to go
down with the rising generation, sound and serviceable for cen-
turies to come; when they will shelter flowers of whose beauty

and a more economical Mode of using Glass. 207.

and fragrance the British botanist knoweth not, and ripen fruits
that are as yet strangers in our clime, of whose delicious flavour
neither alderman nor mayor has any adequate idea ; and,
though the shortness of human life and the parsimony of those
who hold the reins of gardeners and the sinews of gardening,
may hinder me from seeing this heyday in the full tide of its
meridian splendour, I know that it is founded in reason, which
must ultimately prevail over old customs and caprice. Yet, de-
prived as I may be of this feast of reason, to see gardening rise
so high, and so many of the finest flowers and fruits of every
land produced with so little cost in our native earth, and beneath
the cloudy cold inhospitable skies of Britain, I must console
myself, and conclude with the happy alternative, that, if I am not
here on earth to see it and rejoice, I hope to be in heaven,
where I shall neither murmur nor repine at the glorious gifts
that await posterity in this region of thorns.
Alton Towers, Shrove Tuesday, 1841.

Fig. 25. shows a perspective view of the box, with the four
notched uprights for holding
the sash in its place. Fig. 26.,
view of the sash, in which may
be seen the square pivots at
the angles. zg. 27., end view
of the box, showing the up-
rights at the angles for sup-
porting the sash, either close
over the box, or raised to
different heights to admit
more or less air. By means
of the notched uprights, the Fig. 25. Hand-Box, as a Substitute for a Hand-
sash may either be raised 6 in. Oras
above the box at top and bottom, or it may be raised 3 in. or
6 in. at the back, and not raised, or raised only 3 in., in front,
so as to admit more or less air at pleasure, and yet throw off
the rain; the sash being in
any of these cases held firm
in its place, so as not to be
liable to be disturbed by
wind. ‘The pivots which fit
into the notches are square,

in order to admit of their
oN efor uta Gun: being mounted on rafters of "® "Hang on” %
different kinds, so as to form
coverings to frames, pits, or even forcing-houses. Supposing,

says Mr. Forsyth, “a bed of violets, running east and west in the
1841.— IV. 3d Ser. P

208 On Penn’s Mode of Warming and Ventilating.

open air, 12 ft. long, and 3 ft. 6 in. wide; drive seven notched
pegs, 2 ft. apart, down the centre of the bed, to stand 1 ft. above
ground; and seven down each side, at the same distance apart,
but only 4 in. out of the ground; then, to make the sides and
gable ends, take a piece of turf, 4 ft. by 4 ft., shaped out with
the edging-iron, and taken up with the turfing or floating spade,
13 in. thick, of the proper shape, so that it may be set on edge
and kept so by a peg on each side, and having the green side
out. When the lights are put on, with every alternate one
higher than, and embracing the iron edge of, the two under it,
you will have a very elegant little flower-house, which a labourer
might erect in an hour with sixpenceworth of building mate-
rials, and the finished structure would have thus every other
light hinged, and ready to admit air, or allow of watering and
gathering flowers, like a complete forcing-house.” This box
may be used in the open ground for forcing sea-kale, rhubarb,
and for a variety of other purposes. We regard it as promising
to be one of the most useful and economical inventions that have
been introduced in horticulture in our time. — Cond.

Art. III. On Mr. Penn’s Mode of Warming and Ventilating.
By James Marn, A.L.S., &c.

Mr. Penn’s new method of maintaining a constant current of
warm air through forcing-houses appears to be a very great
improvement, as affecting the health of the plants. Air in
motion has always been considered more salubrious to plants as
well as animals, than that which is stagnant, whether moist or
dry. The ascending growth of trees has ever been attributed to
the action of the wind upon their stems and branches, which,
by bending them forwards and backwards, gives to the rising
sap a kind of pulsation, a diastole and systole, of the membranes
producing enlargement. Farmers maintain that turnips grow
fastest in windy weather; and I knew of an experiment made on
one plant to prove the truth of this idea. A turnip-hoer marked
a single plant near the gate of the field in which he was employed,
and every time he passed in or out, turned the plant first to the
right and next to the left, during about a fortnight he was at
work in the field. ‘The plant was evidently assisted by this
manipulation, and exceeded in bulk the other plants that grew
around it; and which circumstance put an end to the experiment,
for a liquorish cow-keeping boy made free with the favourite,
before it was the size of a walnut.

My own opinion on this matter is, that the frequent fracture
of the fibres on each side, caused the emission of an additional

On Penn's Mode of Warming and Ventilating. 209

number of roots, which of course procured additional nourish~
ment to the plant, and hence its larger size. ‘The same may be
the case with trees and shrubs, which may have portions of their
fibrous roots disturbed by gusts of wind.

The usual expedient for ventilating hot-houses, as it has been
called, is rather a misnomer; for, in fact, sliding lights were
and are employed more for reducing the temperature than for
admitting a current of air through the interior. Indeed, a cur-
rent of air, whether hot or cold, is ordered by some of our
preceptors to be provided against by interposing some kind of
open fabric over the openings; and this is really sometimes ne-
cessary. But many practical men have long ago felt the incon-
venience of stagnant air in forcing-houses, which induced them
to try to dissipate it, by always opening both front and top sashes
at the same time; or by setting both end doors open at once, in
order to produce a clear and strong current through the building.
For the same purpose, I have myself used what I called a flap-
per ; a thin panel of wood held between the hands, and flapped
forcibly downwards along the paths of the house, which dis-
lodged the lowest stagnant air.

Mr. Weeks, senior, of the King’s Road, Chelsea, who has
done, and is doing, so much in building and heating houses by
hot water, and who unites a knowledge of general gardening
with very considerable abilities as a mechanic and engineer, has
a vinery on his premises in which he invariably produces splendid
crops of grapes. ‘Iwo or three years ago, he noticed that part
of his crop suffered from the want of ventilation, and, knowing
how rapidly hot air ascends, made, or rather inserted, a row of
three-inch pipes in the front wall, the outer ends flush with the
face of the wall, with stoppers to be used occasionally. The
inner ends of the pipes are brought close to the front hot-water
pipe, so that there is a constant blast of cold air impinging upon
the hot pipe, and from that to the top of the house, escaping
there through sliding shutters, which are shut or opened according
to the state of the weather. ‘This arrangement qualified the heat
at the bottom of the trellis, and served to increase its ascent to
the top; and, at any rate, the vines grew and bore beautifully.

It appears that heated air can be made to descend against its
natural tendency, by first withdrawing the colder and heavier
air from the lower part of the house: but whether a current of
air be impelled upon plants from above or from below can make,
I think, but little difference to the health of such as are shrubby ;
but, for pines plunged or set on a bed, a descending current is
most to be preferred, merely for its penetrating so much more
freely among the leaves, and reaching every part exposed to the
light.

Pp 2

210 Hothouse Ladder for thinning Grapes.

Upon the whole, the endeavour to procure a constant current ~

of air through hothouses’ is highly commendable; and, as Mr.

Penn has succeeded admirably, it is to be hoped that, as he has

had the honour of having made a great improvement in garden

architecture, his discovery will not to himself be a barren one.
London, Feb. 18. 1841.

Art. IV. Notice of a Ladder for thinning Grapes in Hothouses.
By James Eaton, Gardener, Melbury Park.

Fig. 28. Ladder for thinning Grapes. Fig. 29. Section of the horizontal Rod
Ves of the Sliding Ladder. 4

Sete a

In fig. 28., a a represents a $-inch iron rod, which reaches from
one end of the vinery to the other, suspended about 2 ft. from
the rafters by iron rods
b, 6, which rods _ have
turned up ends to support
the horizontal rod in the
manner shown in the sec-
tions, figs. 29. and 30.; ¢,
irons to hang on the rod to
support the ladder, also
shown in the section at c;
d, the ladder ; e, the rafter ;
Js part of the sill of the
front wall, on which the
lower end of the ladder is
supported; g, upper part
of the crooked irons c,
showing a small wheel to
facilitate the moving of the
ladder along the horizontal Fig. 30. side View of the Stiding Ladder.

Rees

a ae

Hempen Lines for supporting twining Plants. 211

rod. A ladder of this kind is in use in Melbury Gardens,
Dorsetshire, for pruning the vines, and thinning the grapes, on
a roof trellis, over a stage of greenhouse plants.

Art V. Description of a Mode of arranging Hempen Lines for
supporting Scarlet Runners, Convolvuluses, or other twining Plants.
By C. MosBerLey.

Take 4-inch thick and 2-inch wide rods or laths, join them
at top as in jig. 31. a, so as to leave the ends a few inches
beyond the junction ; stick the lower ends into the ground, just
within the lines of the plants. Connect these triangles by simi-
lar rods at the bottom, as at 6, about 3 inches above the soil.
Take a cord, fix it firmly to the lower bar; carry it over the
upper bar, which is placed in the cross formed by the long ends
left, as shown in the figure. Make a loop a yard long, carry
the cord again over the plank (that is, round it), and fix the
other end to the lower rod on the other side. In like manner go
on through the whole length, taking care to make the loops all

a Fig. 31. Prop for climbing Plants. Fig. 32. Section of the Prop for
climbing Plants.

of the same length. Through these loops suspend a long rod
or bar, the section of which is shown in fig. 32.; hang to this
bar bags of sand, one of which is shown in fig. 31., as many as
may be wanted. ‘Train the plants up the strings, and when they
are well grown the whole will be covered, and when in flower
the appearance will be very ornamental. By this method, the
cords being fixed to the lower bars will not pull the plants out
of the earth, the tension and contraction of the cords being
counteracted by the bar suspended in the loops, which is raised
or lowered by every change of atmospheric moisture; so much
so indeed, that, in any garden in the neighbourhood of St.
Petersburg, it serves as a hygrometer.

Petersburg, August, 1840.
P 3

212 Natural History of the Earth-Worm,

Arv. VI. The Earth-Worm, considered with reference to Horticulture.
ByG. J.

THE common earth-worm (Zumbricus terréstris Zin.) has a
long cylindrical contractile body, composed, when full grown, of
from 100 to 150 narrow segments or rings, of a dusky red or
flesh-colour. It has neither eyes nor tentacula, nor, indeed,
any external appendages, and the head is only to be distinguished
from the posterior extremity by being narrower and more pointed.
About one third of its length from the snout we perceive a sort
of belt (clitellum) on the body, embracing from six to nine rings,
which are more prominent and fleshy than the others. ‘This
belt begins at the thirty-second segment, and indicates the po-
sition of the organs required for the reproduction of the species ;
and, as the worm is hermaphrodite, it follows that every indi-
vidual should have this belt similarly formed, but age and the
influence of the generative action cause it to vary considerably
in its degree of distinctness, for it swells out in the season of
love and becomes less marked, or even undistinguishable, when
this has passed away. Every ring of the body is furnished with
eight short spines or bristles, placed in pairs, so that taken
together they form four double rows along the sides. These
spines are scarcely visible without the aid of a magnifier, and
“are subservient to locomotion. On the ventral surface of the
sixteenth or seventeenth ring there is a pair of pores or fissures
raised on small mammiform processes; and there is a similar
pair, but so minute as to have been generally overlooked, on the
twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth. The former pair are inti-
mately connected with the reproduction of the species, but the
function of the latter is uncertain. Besides these pores there is
a series of very minute ones along the back, one pore to each
ring, except to the anterior ones, which are unprovided with
it. ‘They are most easily seen near the middle of the body, and
especially on that part of it which intervenes between the six-
teenth mammiferous ring and the belt. The series consists
altogether of from 110 to 120 pores, and they are believed to be
the entrances to the oblong pulmonary vesicles arranged in a
series along the sides, and in which the blood of the worm is
aerated. Some good naturalists affirm, however, that they are
merely mucous cysts for furnishing the slimy fluid which lubri-
cates the surface; and Morren, while he maintains their tracheal
character and use, is also inclined to admit that they may be at
the same time ducts for the issue of the excretion just mentioned.

The earth-worm has a well developed ganglionated nervous
system, but from the non-existence of the proper organs, phy-
siologists have come to perhaps a hasty conclusion that its senses
must be limited to those of taste and touch. ‘The latter every
thing proves to be exquisite, and is the great regulater of the

with reference to Horticulture. 213

animal’s habits. When more than half-extended from its hole,
and intent only on self-enjoyment, we nevertheless cannot ad-
vance within several feet of the worm before it feels the approach
of harm, and hurriedly retreats within its burrow. No one is so
unobservant as not to have noticed this watchfulness, and I
have been sometimes puzzled to explain how the animal was made
aware of my approach, although it is usually accounted for by
saying that it had felt the slight trepidation of the ground oc-
casioned by my tread. The worm is equally sensible to every
influence of the season and of the atmosphere: it feels them all.
Hence in winter it burrows deeper and deeper, to a depth
of 3 or 4 feet,; as the cold increases, to get beneath the
freezing soil; and it reascends with the thaw, so that in the
calm of temperate evenings it is ready to venture out to the
surface, which worms do very frequently. In spring the earth-
worm is seen in hundreds at the surface, every where throwing
out its coiled casts, drilling the walks of our gardens and the
interstices of the pavements, and trailing its serpentine body
from hole to hole with rapid eagerness and energy. This season
is most genial, most in harmony with the tone of its nerves; but,
when again the summer heat reigns oppressive, the worm seeks
the shade and moisture necessary to its existence, by hiding in
the earth as it did in winter; and, as the parchedness of the
ground increases, it digs down to a moist soil or perishes from
siccation. After a long drought, worms seem to me to anticipate
a coming change, for I have observed them close to the surface
even before the first fall of rain, prepared, as it were, to meet the
shower now so welcome to them. But long rains are very
hurtful to them; and great numbers are, in such a season, forced
from their burrows, and drowned in the little pools which fill every
pit and hollow of the garden grounds.

It is to be hoped for the worm’s sake that its taste is less acute
than its touch; for, destitute of tongue, proboscis, teeth, jaws,
or even a suctoria! mouth, it is doomed to feed upon the soil in
which it burrows, swallowing the earth mixed with all its de-~
caying organised remains, from which its nutriment is extracted.
Worms are very fond of drawing into their holes blades of grass,
straws, fallen leaves, and such like objects; but this is scarcely
for the purpose of food, though shreds of them have been found
in the stomach, where are also sometimes found small stones or
gravel. The mouth is a small orifice in the first segment, placed
im an emargination formed by two lips, of which the upper one
is the larger and more projecting. ‘The alimentary canal extends
from the mouth to the opposite extremity, where it ends in the
vent. ‘The stomach is composed of two pouches, of which the
first is membranous, and may be compared to a crop, while the
second is muscular, and is analogous to a gizzard.

p 4

214 Natural History of the Earth-Worm,

The earth-worm moves along the surface, or in the soil, by al=
ternate elongations and contractions of a determinate portion of
‘the body. Stretching forward the anterior extremity to the ut-
most, it is then fixed against the ground by means of the lateral
bristles, and now the rest of the body is drawn to the fixed
point. It can move backwards or forwards with nearly equal
facility; and, when seized in its progress, it wriggles and twists
itself into many coiled knots and circles. This it does also when
wounded, and its writhings surely indicate a severe degree of
suffering in the poor worm, which is too often wantonly trod upon.
The movements of the earth-worm in its burrow are performed
with much greater rapidity than on the surface, a superiority
which results from the disposition of the bristles along the sides,
for in a circular tube alone can they all be brought into action
and made to act as fulcra, the animal having the power of pro-
truding them to a slight extent. Hence, we find that the hole
of the worm is of the same figure as its body, and nearly of the
same calibre, that the ascent and descent may be retarded neither
by over-straitness, nor by a wideness which would render the
contact of the bristles against its walls impossible. The holes
are in general sinuous and worked in an oblique direction, and
lined with the slimy juice which exudes from the animal. They
vary in depth from a few inches to upwards of 4 ft., and have -
two, or even occasionally several, apertures, of which one is the
vent whence they eject those vermicular pellets of earth that have
passed through the intestine, and are in fact moulded and
fashioned within it.

The mode in which the earth-worm burrows is this. The
anterior extremity of the worm forms a cone, gradually tapering
from a little in front of the belt to the snout, which is formed by
the upper lip being somewhat elongated over the mouth, like a
short proboscis. As this can be shortened and thickened, or
made gracile and sharp at will, we can understand its fitness as
an auger, and its equal aptness for making a hole rather larger
than the body when relaxed and undistended. Wishing to
burrow, and having selected a soft moist earth, the worm
stretches forward this anterior portion of its body and stiffens it.
It now pouts out the upper lip, and rendering it, too, tense and
elastic, the worm pushes it under the soil or clod, raises it, and
casts it aside: then again it digs and loosens another portion of
earth until, by many repetitions and much patience, the tunnel
is insensibly completed. As the worm swallows the great pro-
portion of the soil raised in the progress of its work, Nature has
given it no instruments for the removal of the obstacle, such as
have been gifted to many other boring insects.

The reproductive organs of the earth-worm coexist in every
individual; but the copulation of two is required to impregnate

with reference to Horticulture. 215

the egos, and fit them for the continuance of the species. Spring
is the principal season of their amours, and the act is usually
consummated during the stillness of night or in the dewy morn:
but no season (if we except the depth of winter) nor hour is for-
bidden. Whether worms copulate and breed oftener than once
in the year is unascertained; and considerable obscurity hangs
over some other circumstances in their generation which we
need not dwell upon. ‘They are either ovo-viviparous or ovi-
parous, i. e. they do either produce their young already hatched
or they lay eggs; but their eggs are so peculiar that doubts have
been entertained of their real nature. When digging his garden
plot the amateur will now and then turn up, from a considerable
depth, a cluster of them, and they deserve to be examined.
Those which are laid in early spring are hatched in the months
of June and July. When of full size they are as large as a pea,
elliptical, with a tubulous aperture at one end and a small point
at the opposite pole. ‘The shell, or outer coat, is horny, elastic,
smooth, and semitransparent. When immature the egg is
roundish and filled with a granular fluid matter, and from this
matter an embryo worm is gradually evolved, which, at a late
period, the transparency of the shell permits us to see lying
coiled up within. ‘This young one (for there is never more than
one) escapes at length through the tubulous aperture, when it is
rather more than an inch long, and in every respect like its
parent, except only that the belt is either unformed or in-
conspicuous. When, on the contrary, the em-
bryo comes hatched from the parental body, it f) Ay
is only ab ines i h; i
y about four lines in length ; and four months \
elapse before it attains the size of that born from b
the egg. ‘They do not reach their full size until >
after a year; and their life is probably not ex- ~~
tended beyond three or four. In jig. 33., @ is is. 93. Begs of the
an egg before the embryo is visible; 5, the same
egg with the embryo coiled up; and c the embryo worm in the
act of escaping.

There is a popular belief that if the earth-worm is cut into no
matter how many pieces by the spade, every portion will in time
become again a perfect individual. There is much exaggeration
in this statement. The worm certainly recovers from wounds
and lacerations of such extent and numbers as proves a very re-
markable tenacity of life in it, and a very considerable reproduc-
tive power ; and it does indeed reproduce lopped-away segments
readily, provided they have been severed from behind the belt.
If the body is divided into two halves, the anterior containing
the belt will reproduce a new tail, but from the posterior portion
a perfect worm is never evolved, although it continues to live
for a month or two, and grows in some degree. If the division

216 Natural History of the Earth-Worm.

is made into three parts, the middle and hinder ones die after
some weeks’ struggle for existence, and some efforts at reparation.
The mouth and lips are perfectly reproduced, provided the cere-
bral ganglions have not been included in the section.

[The natural uses of the worm appear to be, to serve as nourish-
ment to moles, hedgehogs, frogs, toads, snakes, lizards, birds,
fishes, and some kinds of insects. It is also said by naturalists that
worms are useful to plants by penetrating the soil, loosening it,
rendering it permeable to air and water, and even adding to the
depth of the soil by bringing up its worm-casts to the surface.
This last opinion, however, we conceive to be entirely erroneous.
Soil is not loosened by boring through it, but rather rendered
firmer in the parts not bored through; so far from being rendered
permeable by water in consequence of the bores of worms, it is
rendered less so, the worm-casts deposited on the orifices of the
bores always being water-tight; so much so indeed, that, when
lawns where worms abound are to. be watered with lime-water
in order to destroy these, the first step is to brush away the
casts with a long flexible rod, or remove them with a rake, to
let the water enter the bores; it having been found from ex-
perience, that, when this operation is neglected, the lime-water
sinks into the soil without producing much effect. With re-
spect to worms adding to the depth of the soil, an opinion first
propagated, we believe, by Mr. Charles Darwin, we consider it
to be entirely a delusion, as we have endeavoured to show in
Vol. XIV. p. 95.

The injury done by worms in gardens is very considerable.
By their casts they disfigure walks and lawns, and, by cutting
through the roots, they injure more or less all plants what-
ever; and particularly those which are weak, to which worms
always attach themselves more than to healthy plants, also plants
in pots. Seedlings of all kinds are much injured by them;
because, when the point of the taproot is cut through, the seed-
ling has no other resource, and unless it be vigorous enough to
throw out lateral roots it dies.

To destroy worms is fortunately a very simple process; for
such is the tenderness of their skin, that watering them with any
caustic or bitter liquid deprives them of life in a few minutes.
The cheapest caustic liquid is lime-water, which is made by
dissolving half a pound of quicklime in 12 pints of water, and
letting it stand a few minutes to clear. Before pouring it on the
soil from a watering pot with a rose on, the worm-casts ought to
be removed, when the effects of the water will soon become ob-
vious, by the worms rising to the surface, writhing about there,
and in afew minutes dying. ‘To hasten their death, some more
lime-water should be poured on them after they come to the
surface. The quantity of lime-water required will depend partly

On the Horne. A .

on the depth of the soil, and the number of worm-casts in a
given space, and partly on the state of the weather. Least will
be required in shallow soils, moderately dry; and most in deep
soils, either very wet or very dry. When lime is not at hand,
potash, soda, or urine may be used; and a decoction of the
leaves of walnut trees, of those of hemp, tobacco, or potatoes,
after being partially dried and fermented, will have the same
effect. Hand-picking may also be resorted to ; but this requires
to be performed in the nighttime, when the worms are on the
surface of the ground, or immediately after rain. Worms in
pots may either be removed by striking the sides of the pots which
will disturb the worms, and cause them to rise above the surface,
or by turning out the ball on
the one hand, and picking off
the worms, which seldom fail to
come to the outside. To pre-
vent worms from entering pots, (\W«
asmall cap (fig. 34. of the natu- \
ral size) has been invented by
Mr. Barron, which, when placed =
over the hole in the bottom of Fig. 34. Cap for covering the Holes in the
2 Bottoms of Pots.

the pot, admits the escape of

water, and effectually prevents the entrance of worms. It has
been in use at the gardens at Elvaston Castle for several years.
Oyster shells may be used as substitutes for this cover. ]

Art. VII. On the Hornet. By Joun Wicuton, Gardener to
Lord Stafford.

Havine troubled you on different occasions with communications
about bees, I have now some observations to make on hornets.
During the season before last, a hornet took possession of an
empty beehive in the apiary of these gardens, which stood be-
side other hives containing bees. When I first observed the
nest of the intruder, it was about the size of a pigeon’s ege cut
in half. It was fixed inside to the top of the hive, and then
contained three cells. ‘Two more cells were added on the fol-
lowing day, and an egg deposited in each of the five. In about
four days the eggs were hatched ; but in the mean time more
cells were formed with an ege in each, and the nest of course
enlarged. When I turned the hive upside down to examine the
nest, the hornet always seemed afraid, and would skulk behind
the nest : but after the brood came forth, the hornet lost all fear,
and I began to think of the old saying, that nine hornets could
sting a horse to death, and I thought it prudent to watch the
opportunity when the hornet went abroad, to examine the nest.

218 On the Hornet.

May observes that the giant inhabitants of the vespary live
in union with those of the apiary: but, fearing that the case
might be otherwise, when more hornets were produced, with a
view to limit their numbers, I pricked all the brood except three,
and part of the eggs with apin. I supposed that the old hornet
would take no notice of this; but was surprised to find the nest
entirely forsaken. The following day I observed the hornet
near the spot, looking out for another place of settlement. I
kept the forsaken grubs alive for some time, by feeding them
with food obtained from the larva of wasps, by causing them to
reject it from their stomachs upon a feather. This I offered to
the young hornets, who devoured the fluid greedily. I tried
them with sugar, honey, and other sweet things, but nothing
succeeded like the food obtained from the -young wasps. ‘The
grubs grew till the cells could hardly contain them. With a
view to remedy this inconvenience, I lengthened the cells with
paper, but that did not answer the purpose; the grubs fell out ;
and here ended my endeavours to rear hornets.

There are two things in the above statement which may de-
serve notice; the fierceness of the hornet after the brood came
forth, and the nest being afterwards forsaken. The fierceness
of the insect at that particular time is in accordance with what
appears to be an established law in other parts of the animal
kingdom. ‘The common hen, when she has young, will attack
a mastiff. If the hornet’s subsequently forsaking the brood ap-
pears inconsistent with her fierceness in defending it, we can
only conclude that insect affection is, after all, less powerful than
that of birds and quadrupeds. As it may be supposed that the
hornet perished by some accident, and that the second one I
observed was not the same insect, I may mention that I did the
same, in the next season, to another hornet, and with the same
result; its nest was forsaken.

I am not aware if entomologists have noticed a change in in-
sects when their brood comes forth; and have no treatise to refer
to at present, except the work of Buffon, and a few extracts
from Reaumur. I find little worth notice in the former, who
repeats the ridiculous story that a hornet will attack and devour
a sparrow. ‘The extracts from Reaumur are on wasps; and he
gives some curious accounts how they feed their brood; which
might lead one to suppose that his domesticated wasps, as they
are styled, had not the usual covering to their cells, or that
openings were made for inspection. ‘This reminds me of a
thing which I never could discover; how hornets and wasps
enlarge the paper-like enclosure of their cells, which is properly
called the nest. For instance, the one of which I have been speak-
ing, when first discovered, was about the size of half a pigeon’s
egg; and if it had not been disturbed, it would probably have

Use of Charcoal in Pot Culture. 219

increased to the size of a large turnip. This could have been
effected only by adding coatings to the outside, and cutting away
the interior layers, so as to afford space for increasing the number
of cells: but, as I never could discover the insects in the act of
carrying out the material thus cut away, I can only conjecture
that they work it up for the structure of the additional cells, as
they proceed. By this contrivance the cells are always carefully
protected. It is certain that when the nest has attained the
usual size, the coatings are more close and compact than while
the nest is in progress. I lately examined a very large hornet’s
nest, and found the cells enclosed by eight or ten layers of a
substance like paper. ‘This the insect may be often seen col-
lecting from dry, unpainted wood; its mouth being admirably
adapted to the purpose. — Cossey Hall Gardens, March 7. 1841.

Art. VIII. Further Results of the Experiments on the Application
of Charcoal, as a Mixture with Earth, for the Cultivation of Plants
in Pots. By M. Epwarp Lucas, Assistant Gardener in the
Royal Botanical Garden at Munich.

(From the Garten Zeitung for 1840, p. 66.)

AccoRDING to my promise, I now lay before my readers the
experiments I have made in the application of charcoal to another
purpose, viz. using it as a mixture with various sorts of earth.
It showed here also the same extraordinary effect; and all the
plants that have hitherto been subjected to this treatment have
been as much distinguished by their luxuriance of growth, as
by the more perfect developement of their individual parts. This
was particularly the case with tuberous-rooted plants, which,
besides their perfect developement, had also a much longer
period of vegetation ; so that the difference in this respect, between
those that were cultivated in their usual soil and those which
had a mixture of charcoal, amounted to nearly two months. I
was led to this by several trifling circumstances.

A very suitable treatment introduced into this botanic garden
of plunging pots with bulbous or tuberous rooted plants taken
up every year, for a few weeks after potting, or till they begin
to shoot, in a moderate hotbed, covering them an inch deep with
earth, was applied the previous year. A bed which had been
used for sowing the seeds of tender plants in pots, and in which
charcoal ashes were used for plunging them in, was appropriated
to receive the newly planted species of d‘rum, Begonza, Gés-
nerd, Gloxinza, and Scitamineee. The pots with these tubers
were plunged to the rim in the frame containing the charcoal
ashes, and then covered over with loose mould from a dung bed.

Before I proceed further, I cannot refrain from recommending
this method, which, to my knowledge, has not been long known

220 Use of Charcoal in Pot Culture.

in German gardens, to all cultivators; for nothing is more con-
trary to the nature of those plants, than to set them in the open
greenhouse to make their first shoots, where they are conse-
quently in a dry situation. Most of them, when treated with a
gentle equable warmth, like that of a previously used dung bed,
will be much more fine than if placed in a higher and drier
temperature. Watering the tubers before they begin to grow is
very disadvantageous, and yet it would be absolutely necessary
if the pots stood in a greenhouse; we prevent the evil by mak-
ing the earth in which the tubers are to be set sufficiently damp,
only slightly pressing them down, and immediately covering
them with earth in the dung bed. Only when the latter begins to
dry, it should be moistened all over with the watering-pot; and this
operation should be continued till all the tubers have made shoots,
and then each can be watered singly. With respect to preserving
them through the winter, I have to observe that these tubers,
as soon as they are taken in, should be placed in the greenhouse,
not too near the glass, and the earth covered with moss, by
which they will be prevented from drying up too soon, and the
necessity of moistening the earth obviated. By such treatment,
want of success in the cultivation of these splendid ornamental
plants can never be complained of. But to our subject.

These tubers, plunged in the ashes, soon shot up vigorously.
As they ought to be grown in ahigh frame in summer, but which
could not be immediately prepared, they remained in this low
bed, which was only raised, dug up, and kept covered with
earth. ‘They absorbed a great deal, and required watering every
day. When they were taken up, most of the roots, as may be sup-
posed, had grown over and under the pots; they had penetrated
into the charcoal, and grown so strong, that it was absolutely
necessary to replant the tubers in pots considerably larger
in size. I, of course, mixed charcoal with the earth in which
they were to be planted, in the proportion of rather more than
half. All the above-named species showed extraordinary luxu-
riance under this treatment; some were particularly rich in their
inflorescence, and the green of their leaves was much more
intense; in others, the period of flowering was of unusually long
duration, so that while others planted in the usual soil had long
ceased flowering, these continued to vegetate freely. Very small
tubers, from which in the first year no flower was to be expected,
flowered very beautifully, as was the case with Gésnera atro-
sanguinea. ‘The <Ardidez, namely those with spotted leaves,
such as Calddium pictum, C. bicolor, C. discolor, C. spléndens,
C. pee'cile, C. hamatostigmum, C. versicolor, &c., excited uni-
versal admiration. Several species of Billbérgza and Tillandsza,
to which I also added charcoal, soon exceeded in luxuriance
those that were growing in common earth. From what was

Application of Charcoal to the Growth of Plants. 221

before said of the Cacti, it may easily be supposed that they
would flower well in a mixture of charcoal, which experience
confirms. Héchtza, stenopétala, which rooted so quickly as a
cutting, has since thriven equally well in a mixture of charcoal.
The splendid Mexican euphorbias, such as Z. fastuosa and £.
falgens, showed a very considerable power of growth. Orange
trees with yellow leaves, having had a layer of charcoal laid
on after the upper surface of earth had been removed, soon
recovered their green; colour: this was also the case with gar-
denias. We need not be very particular as to the quantity to
be used, half charcoal may be used without injury; only care
must be taken, as before noticed, that the charcoal should be
exposed for a time to the influence of the weather, and the
larger pieces removed; and watering should never be neglected,
as the greater porosity of earth causes it to dry up sooner.

A very interesting circumstance took place with an old and
very sickly plant of the Doryanthes excélsa. After this plant
had been falling off for two years, and in reality had no roots
but one old and decayed one, it was planted in charcoal, and in
the course of three weeks it began to shoot, and is since perfectly
recovered; it is growing in a soil of one third charcoal.

Ferns sown on fine sifted charcoal germinate quickly and
well; a number of species come up in the charcoal beds where
seed falls, and not only Gymnogramma macrophylla, and Ptéris
serrulata, but other rarer and more valuable species.

A friend of mine in the neighbourhood of Munich uses char-
coal ashes for mixing instead of sand, and he assures me that
ail plants, chiefly hothouse ones, and among the cassias, par-
ticularly those with pinnated leaves, acacias, bignonias, &c.,
succeed extremely well, and have recovered wonderfully from
their previous sickly state.

My esteemed principal, the court gardener, M. Seitz, who |
acknowledges the importance of this use of charcoal, is now
putting in practice a number of systematic experiments with dif-
ferent sorts of charcoal, on all the families of plants, and it will
only be at the conclusion of these extensive observations, which
in spring are to be extended to garden beds, that a well-erounded
opinion on the application of charcoal ashes in general can be
formed.

Art. 1X. Remarks on the Application of Charcoal to the Growth of
Plants. By M. W. Nevusert, Tubingen.

(From the Garten Zeitung for 1840, p. 110.)

In reference to the communications of M. Lucas, on his ex-
periments of rooting cuttings in charcoal, I take the liberty of

222 Application of Charcoal to the Growth of Plants.

communicating my experience on the subject. My experiments
are not numerous, and I should have considered them too trifling
when compared with those of M. Lucas, if in one important
respect they had not proved the very contrary of his, namely,
with respect to the number of roots.

In the year 1831 I made several experiments to cause Pri-
mula pree‘nitens to produce blue flowers, as is frequently the case
with Hydrangea horténsis. After several unsuccessful attempts
I had recourse to charcoal earth, such as is frequently found in
woods where charcoal has been burnt. I took a plant of Pri-
mula pre’nitens about two or three months old, with a very
small ball of earth to the roots, and planted it in charcoal earth,
where it grew luxuriantly, but instead of the flowers being blue
they were of a bright red. A friend, who was interested in my
experiments, thought the cause of my failure in this instance
was owing to the plants having a ball of earth when planted, on
which account the charcoal could not take proper effect. To
ascertain if this were the case, I took some pure charcoal ashes,
and planted a cutting of P. pree‘nitens in it, which grew in a short
time, and produced many beautiful red flowers. As I use very
small pots for my experiments, on account of want of room, I
am soon obliged to transplant my cuttings; after a full quarter of
a year I took the primulas out of the pots to transplant them,
but I found, to my astonishment, very few roots, and I therefore
replanted them in their old pots, in which they remained from
spring 1832 to spring 1833. When transplanting my other
primulas in spring 1833, I also transplanted these, and found
that, after being in the charcoal ashes a year and a half, they had
not made so many roots as the others, which had only been
planted half a year in common earth.

To examine the roots more closely, I shook away the whole
ball, and found that the plant had three main roots, which were
furnished with fine fibres and spongioles, and from the stem to
the point were of a bright red colour, like the flowers.

This discovery was of great importance to me, as, by this
treatment, frequent transplanting and the use of large pots were
obviated. From this time I planted my primulas in charcoal
‘ ashes mixed with one half sandy bog earth, in small pots, in
which they grew well, and produced abundance of flowers. ‘The
cuttings grown in 1832, in charcoal ashes, are still alive, and
have stems 14 ft. high, which have always fine crowns of leaves
and flowers. I transplant these plants every autumn, always in
the same 2-inch pots, take away the half of the ball of roots,
and any side shoots that are pes anine, to appear, and keep them
tolerably moist.

These favourable results induced me to mix charcoal with
earth for various plants, and I always found that the plants were

Protection of Flowers from Snails and Slugs. 223

very healthy, and rooted easily in it, but did not produce many
roots, as was the case with M. Lucas, but, on the contrary, very
few. Perhaps the cause of the difference lies in. the sort of
charcoal used; M. Lucas used fir charcoal, and J; beech char-
coal. It is very desirable that more experiments should be made
with different sorts of charcoal, to find what effect the different
sorts have on the same species of plants.

Besides primulas I have made experiments in charcoal with
leaves of Gloxinza, Streptocarpus Réxzz, Gésnera bulbosa,
Crassula, Cotylédon, and Asclépias carnosa, all of which rooted
very soon; also with twigs of Hydrangea hort€nsis, Citrus, Jus-
ticea, Verbéna, Trachélium ceertleum, Pelargdnium, Passiflora,
and some Aloes, Stapélza, and Cacti, which also grew extremely
well. I was completely unsuccessful, on the contrary, with Rho-

dodéndron, Plumbago capénsis, and English garden primroses.

I must also observe that I had no dung or tan bed for my
experiments, but at first kept my pots in a common living-room,
and for the last few years only have used a small green-house
under the same roof as my dwelling-house.

Although these trifling experiments have had. no important
results, they may serve as an encouragement to amateurs, as they
show that no particular or extensive preparations are required
for putting them in practice.

Art. X. On the Protection of Flowers in the Open. Ground, &c.,
Jrom Snails and Slugs. By W. WALKER, Esq.

I ENCLOSE you a description of an apparatus of my invention, and
which I, and several gentlemen in our neighbourhood, have
found effectual in practice. The original, of which the enclosed
is a copy, was laid before the Society of Arts in 1839; but, as I
find the Fransactions of that Society have only a limited circu-
lation, I conclude that a great majority of the cultivators of
valuable plants (who are the parties to be the most benefited by
the invention) may possibly never see the article referred to.
This induces me to forward it to you for insertion in the Gar-
dener’s Magazine ; and, as the season has arrived when its value
_ may be appreciated, if you will have the goodness to give the
same early publicity you will the more oblige, Yours,

Hull, March 15. 1841. W. WALKER.

In the Advertiser of the 26th ult. appeared an article, by F. R. Horner,
Ksq., M.D., Hull, on this subject, which was copied from the Gardener's
Chronicle. Dr. Horner acknowledged in that article that he was indebted for
_ the suggestion of the principle to a scientific gentleman of this town. Mr.

Walker, 54. Lowgate, is the gentleman alluded to, who has requested us
to insert the following letter, addressed to Arthur Aikin, Esq., Secretary
1841.—IV. 3d Ser. Q

224: Protection of Flowers

to the Society of Arts, dated as far back as June, 1839, upon the same
subject : —
“ Hull, 54, Lowgate, June 26. 1839.

“ You will receive herewith, carriage paid, an apparatus of my invention,
which, if you will have the goodness, at an early period, to lay before the
Society, in order that those who consult your valuable work may have the
benefit, I shall be greatly obliged.

At this season, any invention that will perfectly secure our dahlias, or
other more delicate plants, from the attacks of those voracious pests of the
flower-garden, the Mollusca, must be highly acceptable. No one has had to
contend with a more formidable array of this class than myself, particularly
the genera Helix and Limax of Linnzus; and I am happy to inform you,
that the galvanic plant-protector above mentioned, and sent herewith, forms an
effectual barrier against these formidable enemies.

I have had them in use in my own garden for twelve months, and can
assure you that, although during that period plants on all sides have suffered
from these creatures severely, not a plant has been injured that has had the
protection of the galvanic circle. :

The annexed drawing and description will exhibit the apparatus and explain
its operation. The galvanic plant-protector consists of a taper or conical ring
of zinc, of the following dimensions: 6 in. diameter
at top (a b), the bottom (ec d) 42 in., and the height
(ac) 4in. The top edge is flanged off about a quarter
of an inch, and cut into numerous zigzag or van-
dyked points, as represented in the drawing. Im-
mediately under this pointed flange another ring, but
of copper (£ F), is neatly fitted, bemg exactly of the
same taper as the former, and full lin. broad (6 F),
supported in its place by dots of solder in three or
four places of its circumference : these dots are repre- 4
sented by the marks zz. Such is the apparatus ; its ,
operation is thus: —The bottom of the zinc ring
(C d) being pressed into the soil until the lower edge
of the copper ring is about 13 in. above the surface,
the Mollusca may crawl up the zine with impunity,
but, on coming in contact with the copper, will receive

| j ou

a galvanic shock, and immediately turn away, or fall to © A !
the ground, I have repeatedly watched them, and _ Fig. 35. Galvanic Plant-
have observed they were extremely cautious in ap- TO Ge

proaching a second time, I prefer the vandyked edge to a plain one, for this
reason, if the larger of this tribe attempt to stretch across and above the
‘copper belt, avoiding contact, they would be incapable of holding by the points.
In fixing the galvanic plant-protector, care must be taken to enclose within
the ring the rods, with such plants as require them, as represented in the
drawing, otherwise the Mollusca would find a ready road to the plant by the
rod. The apparatus acts in wet or dry weather, and is therefore always in
action. Its appearance in use is like a flower-pot, and its cheapness, utility,
and durability must insure its general adoption,

I believe the same principle may be applied to walls
for the protection of fruit trees, straps of zinc and
copper being judiciously placed along the wall, and
around the stem of each tree; the best position, in my
opinion, would be an angle of 45° with the wall, Sup-
pose a b, in the annexed figure, to represent the sec-
tion of a wall, c d the strap of zine and copper, e b
the ground line; the angle cd, I think, should be
about 45°. In this arrangement the copper should clip
the edge of the zinc strap, ec.

“ : i : 5 Fig. 36. Galvanic Protector
In addition to the security from snails, &c., I believe Haan Tree ‘Walls.

Jrom Snails and Slugs. 225°

that that most destructive insect, the Forficula auricularia Linneus, could
not pass from under the barrier (c d) without using its wings. I apprehend
they could not hold by their feet to the zinc in its position c d, but would
fall to the ground in attempting to pass from d to c.

The practice of placing small flower-pots, filled with dry leaves, in an in-
verted position over the tops of plant-rods is well known, and adopted for
capturing these insects. The zinc strap is admirably adapted to bring the
same system into practice for the protection of wall trees, thus: suppose, along
the edge of the zine strap next the wall, holes to be made, about an inch in
diameter, one, two, or more yards from each other, and these closed by loose
covers, of a shape capable of being easily removed, and of holding dry leaves ;
the gardener, by walking round his walls once a day, would be enabled to
secure great numbers of this destructive tribe, particularly during the season
before they take wing. This arrangement, I believe, would operate thus : an
insect creeping up a wall or stem of a fruit tree meets with obstruction at d,
and, being prevented from proceeding in that direction, instinctively runs hori-
zontally along the angle, in search of an outlet, when it very soon enters one
of the openings with its cover full of leaves, the kind of shelter in which it
delights ; others follow, until the spaces between the leaves are full. I think
this is not too much to expect, for in either direction the angle forms a channel
to conduct the current of insects into the very reservoirs where the gardener
wishes to find them. I am not certain that the galvanic arrangement operates
on these dry animals, but on the moist tribe Mollusca it does powerfully. I
must now take leave of the subject, and beg to subscribe myself,

Sir, respectfully, your obedient Servant,
Wm. WALKER.

Arthur Aikin, Esq., the Secretary at the Society

of Arts, Adelphi, London.”

Sometime before receiving the above communication we had
prepared the following paragraph from two articles which ap-
peared in the Gardener’s Chronicle.

The sensation of galvanism is produced by placing in contact
plates of zinc alternating with plates of copper, with a piece of
moistened cloth between each. ‘This forms what chemists call
the galvanic battery; and it is by exciting this chemical power
in its simplest and feeblest form, that the efficacy of the galvanic
protector depends. If a snail or slug be placed on a plate of
zinc, to which a narrow plate or strip of copper is fixed near the
edge, and the zinc turned over it so as to form a rim of zinc,
copper, and zinc, it creeps unmolested on its surface; but as
soon as it touches the rim where the copper is it receives a gal-
vanic shock (its moist soft body acting as the moistened cloth
above mentioned, and thus forming the galvanic circle complete),
and immediately recoils, twisting itself back, and rarely ven-
turing a second time to touch the copper, to receive another
shock. ‘Io protect a crop or plant, then, it is only necessary to
have a zinc plate of sufficient length to surround it, of 5 or 6 inches
in breadth, with a strip of sheet copper 1 in. broad riveted to the
upper part of the strip of zinc, and the zinc turned over it so as
to form a rim, as shown in fig. 37. ‘The plate so prepared is to
be set on edge round the bed or plant to be protected. The

cost of the plates complete is said to be about 6d. a lineal foot,
Q 2

226 Incombustibility of the Larch.

so that a circular plate to enclose a space
6 in. in diameter will cost about 9d., or al-
lowing 2d. for uniting the two extremities,
11d. We have had one circular rim made
by Messrs. Cottam and Hallen, Winsley
Street, Oxford Street, with the copper on
the inside instead of the outside, and, having
enclosed a number of snails and slugs in it,
we find them, hitherto, effectually imprisoned. Fig. 37. Galvanic Plant-
This we conceive to be a more efficient test ‘

of the galvanic influence than employing it to protect a plant;
because, in the latter case, the creature may turn for food else-
where, but in the former it must starve if it does not cross the
galvanic boundary. — Cond.

(

Art. XI. On the Incombustibility of the Larch. By H. L. L.

Evetyn, towards the conclusion of his account of the larch,
alludes to a supposed peculiarity in the wood of that tree to resist
combustion. He refers to the story of a castle besieged by
Cesar, and preserved from conflagration by logs of larch wood
heaped around it, and he introduces the line

Et robusta Larix, igni impenetrabile lignum.

From the context, these words have been supposed to be an
extract from Czesar, and have been since quoted (Arboret. Brit.,
vol. vill. p. 2358.; Library of Useful Knowledge, art. Planting,
p. 125., &c.) repeatedly, as if from the works of that author.
But neither the story of the Castle of Larignum, nor even the
word Larix, is to be found in any of the writings of Cesar
now extant; and with regard to the line above mentioned, having
lately met with it accidentally, I am enabled to state that it be-
longs to the Parthenice of Baptista Mantuanus, not far from the
beginning of the poem,

Omne quod excellens opus et sublime futurum
Difficiles ortus habet, incrementaque tarda.

Sic Junco nemus Alcide—sic tardior exit

Populeis Abies ramis—sic Abiete Pinus ( ? Prunus)
Segnior, et Pruno longe vivacior Ilex,

Et robusta Larix igni impenetrabile lignum.

It is certainly possible that Vitruvius may have derived his
very circumstantial story of the Alpine castle from some portion
of Czesar’s writings which has not come down to us; but the
only occasion on which that conqueror encountered any opposi-
tion among the Alps is known to have occurred in his passage
of the Mount Genévre, at the very beginning of his Gallic
campaigns, and we have his own brief account of that affair.

Culture of Mushrooms under Hothouse Paths. PAT

Evelyn seems to entertain some well-founded suspicion upon
this alleged incombustibility of the larch, and refers to the note
of the editor of Vitruvius Philander, who, it appears, put the
veracity of his author to the test, by trying the experiment at
Venice, and igniting a piece of larch in the presence of his
Mecenas (Cardinal D’Armagnac), then ambassador to the
republic.

It remains to be ascertained whether these stories of the im-
possibility of igniting the larch, narrated by Vitruvius and other -
Roman authors, be not so many more instances of the larix
being confounded with the alerce (Zhuja articulata) of Africa,
(see Gard. Mag., vol. xiii. p. 512.). Perhaps, also, the submerged
ship described by Witsen may, from its locality in the Numidian
Sea, be presumed to have been built of the African alerce, rather
than of the European Zarix.

March, 1841.

Arr. XII. Description of a Mode in which Mushrooms may be
grown under the Paths of a Hothouse. By W. JonxEs, Gardener
to I. M. D’Ollier, Esq.

In November last I considered it necessary to make some al-
terations in a plant stove, the principal feature of which was
the raising of the whole interior surface 14 in. higher than it
originally was. Having completed the front and end passages,
a thought occurred to me, that the vacuum in the rear might be
filled to advantage with a mushroom-bed, placing bearers for
planks to rest on, as a substitute for the tiles with which the
passage was laid. I accordingly set to work, filled in and beat
(with a pavier’s rammer): four successive layers of half-dried
unfermented horse-droppings. When done, I had 8 in. of this
material as hard as a Wicklow black turf. The length of the
passage alluded to is 30 ft. by 3 ft. wide; so that six 14-inch
planks, 15 ft. long by 1 ft. wide, cover the bed so completely
that nothing is to be seen but the level passage all round; and
this, so far from being unsightly, I think adds much to the ap-
pearance of the house, as heretofore this part of the house was
rather damp, which is frequently the case in houses where the
fire enters at the flues, and passes along the front. In this house
it goes along the front twice, and once along the back; so that
the water used in front to subdue the too great aridity of the at-
mosphere, rising in vapour, falls condensed in this as being the
coldest part of the house. The planks absorb this humidity,
and look neat and clean. The bed itself, which is the finest and
most productive I ever saw, can be examined or watered without
the least inconvenience, by raising the planks on‘their edges ; if
they be soiled, they can be laid on the flue and washed, or they

228 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c.

may be coloured to correspond with the tiles. A bed can be
made on the same principle in any back passage which is not
too dry, nor the temperature too high (it should not exceed
60°), with a neat step at each end, upon a lighter scale, say
10 in. high, 54 in. for dung, 13 in. for earth, 14 in. for mushrooms
to swell in, and 13 in. for thickness of planks. All this can be
removed in spring, when the crop is gathered. Beds treated in
the manner I have described will never give out any gases or
effluvia calculated to offend the olfactory senses of the most de-
licate female. I only ¥ntend these few hints for those who have
not the convenience of a proper structure solely allotted for the
production of this vegetable; for sometimes the best of us fail
in producing a good supply in sheds in the dead of winter.
Booterstown, near Dublin, Feb. 10. 1841.

REVIEWS.

Art. I. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agricullure, Botany,
Rural Architecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of those
considered the more interesting.

A History of the Vegetable Kingdom, embracing the Physiology, Classification,
and Culture of Plants, with their various Uses to Man and the fower Animals,
and their Application in the Arts, Manufactures, and Domestic Economy. By
William Rhind. Parts I., II., and III. 8vo. Glasgow, 1840.

This work is written as a part of one entitled The History of the Earth and
Animated Nature, and appears, from the following quotation, to be on a com-
prehensive plan : —

“In treating of the vegetable kingdom, the same simplicity of arrangement
and perspicuity of description will be observed which characterise the excel-
lent work of Dr. Goldsmith. The first portion will embrace the physiology
of plants, and include a description of the structure and uses of the various
parts, together with general views of vegetable culture, the geographical distri-
bution of species, and the economical products which vegetables afford. The
remainder of the work, under a simple and natural classification, will contain
descriptions of particular plants, including those used for food, clothing,
architectural purposes, and for the ornament and convenience of social and
domestic life. In this department will be found all that is curious and novel
in the vegetable kingdom. The full and popular manner in which the different
subjects will be treated, and the mass of original and collected information,
will, it is presumed, render this work superior to any of similar extent and
character at present extant. For the illustration of the text, a very extensive
series of engravings and woodcuts is in preparation. The work will be
included in eight parts, price 2s. each, to form a handsome volume.”

There are some well executed plates in the parts before us, and a number
of woodcuts; and the letterpress seems creditable to the author ; but of this
we shall be better able to judge when the work is farther advanced. The
work is cheap, and on that account, independently of others, deserves to be
successful.

Flowers and their Associations. By Ann Pratt, author of “ The Field, the
Garden, and the Woodland.” 12mo; coloured plates and woodcuts.
London.

A most agreeably written book, by a lady evidently well acquainted with

her subject, and impressed with its importance in cultivating the young mind,
by teaching it how to observe, and leading it to reflect. It forms one volume

an
om
i=

General Notices. 229

of the Library for the Young, now publishing by Mr. Knight, and, like all that
gentleman’s publications, is excellent and cheap.

A Series of Botanical Labels for the Herbarium, adapted to the respective Floras
of Smith, Hooker, Lindley, Macreight ; including One for every Plant hitherto

recognised as indigenous to the British Islands.

Member of the Botanical
Society of London. 8vo.
London. 5s.

Those who are engaged in
forming collections of dried
British plants will find this
volume a valuable storehouse

Edited by a Corresponding

ROSACEZ Juss. Icosan. Potyeyn.

FRAGARIA moscuata Duch.
Fracaria elatior Ehrh.
Hautboy Strawberry Groves and hedges.

of correct labels, which they | Joc,

can cut off and attach to the

paper on which their specimens | Tem. [| | Cor.

are fastened. The annexed is

a specimen of a label. ‘

A Treatise on an improved Mode of cultivating the Cucumber and Melon, so as
to produce early Melons and Cucumbers all the Year with less Trouble and
Expense than by the Methods usually practised. With Directions for growing
and forcing Asparagus and Sea-kale; and for destroying Woodlice. By
George Mills, Gardener to the Baroness De Rothschild, at Gunnersbury
Park, Middlesex.

In these days, when so many of our first-rate gardeners are occupied with
the Orchidacez, it is satisfactory to find one of the heads of the profession
cultivating the cucumber, and teaching the amateur how he may produce
them in a frame or pit all the year round. It appears to us that one grand
cause of Mr. Mills’s success is his employment of sandy peat, alone, as soil
for his plants in the winter season, without any mixture of rotten dung or
leaves. The peat, or heath soil, never retains water, and consequently never
generates a damp atmosphere, which is more or less the case with every other
description: of soil; even thoroughly decomposed hot-bed dung, or leaf mould,
both of which are used by the Dutch in their winter forcing of the cucumber.
Our more humid winter atmosphere seems to require a drier soil than
that of the winters of Holland, and M. Mills seems to have hit upon it.
Pines are grown in the same soil at Versailles, as shown at p. 17.

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

Art. 1. General Notices.

CoveRING Strawberry-Beds with Netting stretched on a frame ata short dis-
tance from the ground checks radiation, and consequently increases the
temperature of the surface of the bed. There is no doubt that much may be
gained by coverings of netting in early spring, from their effect in retaining
both heat and moisture, whether by checking radiation, or diminishing the
effect of cold and drying winds. At the same time, during very hot weather,
the net will diminish the effect of the sun’s rays, and when the soil has been
cooled by too much rain, the net, if not removed, will prevent warm and
drying winds from having their full beneficial influence. Coverings of netting,
therefore, will, under certain circumstances, require to be occasionally taken
off for a few hours during the finest part of the day, and afterwards put on
again.—Cond.

American Blight ( A\phis lanigera).— Many prescriptions have from time to
time appeared in the Gardener’s Magazine for the American blight. Oil de-
stroys the insect, but is hurtful to the tree. Vitriol reduced to the consistency
of sour drops (about seven parts of water to one of vitriol, according to the

Q 4

230 Domestic Notices : — England.

strength -of the vitriol), if applied by rubbing well into the crevices of the
wood, wherever the kind of hoariness produced by the insect is perceptible,
we have found in practice to destroy the insect without hurting the tree : it
is very penetrating. Hot water is apt to cool before reaching those insects that
are in very inaccessible crevices. —R. L. Kilmarnock, Feb. 4. 1841.

Pince and Co.’s permanent Botanical and Horticultural Tally, mentioned in
p. 86., is shown in jigs. 38, 39. ;
the former is a perspective view,
and the latter an elevation of the
cast-iron shank. The length of
the shank from the disk to the
neck is 1 ft., and below the disk
8in. The width of the shank at
the neck is rather more than an
inch, and at the lower extremity
three fourths of an inch. These
shanks can be afforded by Messrs.
Cottam and Hallen at 4s. 6d. per
‘dozen, or with a lead plate riveted
on, as in fig. 38., at 8s. per dozen.
The size of the name plate will
depend on the number of words
which are to be stamped or
painted on it. These plates may
be formed of sheet lead one
eighth of an inch thick, and the -
letters stamped with steel type,
-and filled in with white lead, the
‘body of the plate being painted
black ; or they may be made of
wood thoroughly dried, soaked
in oil, painted black or a blue
black, and the letters painted
white The disk, on firm ground,
such as turf, will prevent the
tally from sinking too far into
the soil, or leaning to one side.
On the whole, this tally pro-
mises to be one of the best
hitherto devised for arbore- “grr Uae
tums.

New Besom for Garden Purposes. — Mr. G. Duncan, gardener at Levenside,
always uses the twigs of the snowberry (Symphoria glomerata) for sweeping
walks, &c., which he prefers to either birch or broom, as being more tough,
durable, and easily obtained. The snowberry is a hardy free-growing plant,
that will thrive in almost any situation, even under trees it grows well ; so that
a ready supply of material for making besoms might be provided by planting it
in any unfrequented place near the garden, where it could be cut when wanted,
which should be done as soon asthe wood is properly ripened, and tied up in

cue to dry before it is made into besoms for use. —L. Glasgow, Feb. 10.

Fig. 38.
Tally for Trees and Shrubs.\ *

Art. Il. Domestic Notices.
ENGLAND.

CHURCHYARDS at Lancaster.— Since you were in this neighbourhood, we have
had some new churches built; and I consider the plans of the churchyards
deserving of notice in the Gardener’s Magazine, as they are calculated to meet
the approbation of both rich and poor who may wish to cherish dear remem-
brances.—D. Saul. Lancaster, Feb, 1841.

Retrospective Criticism. . 2313

Queen Pines cut at Prestwold in October 1840, by Mr. Brown, Gardener there. .
—HTI take the liberty to send you the weight of ten queen pines which were
cut by my father, at Prestwold, last October. To some the weights may ap-
pear almost incredible, but others as well as myself can vouch for the authen-
ticity of the list.

Ib. 0z. Ib. oz. Ib. oz.
First - -5 9 Fifth - -4 6 Eighth - -4 4
Second - -5 4 Sixth = -4 5 Ninth - -4 4
Third’ - - 414 Seventh - -4 4 Tenth - - 4 12
Fourth - -4 8

The ten together weighing 46 lb. 6 oz. good weight. When I was with Mr.
Cruickshank at Coleorton, we cut two queens there which weighed 5b.
each, and that was the greatest weight we ever got the queen to attain. As
the old flue system, together with its old companions wooden lights, has suc-
ceeded in growing such (I may say) fine fruit, what may we yet look for from
the effect of metallic glazing, and hot water, which I think are far preferable ?
—W. Brown. Merevale Hail, Feb. 12. 1841.

The Bokhara Clover.—We have had plants from 12 to 14 feet high, and
have saved from them a considerable quantity of seeds. Horses and all other
cattle and sheep are very fond of this plant, the smell of which is exactly like
that of Anthoxanthum odoritum. It is a biennial, and its strong fleshy roots
decaying rapidly in the soil will add to its richness, and form a sort of manure
for the succeeding crop. I could say much more in favour of this plant, but
I have not time. — R. Forrest. Kensington Nursery, Oct. 29. 1840,

SCOTLAND.

Glasgow Botanic Garden. — The site of the old garden, which was bought
for 2000/. in 1817, has lately been sold for 12,000/., and 22 acres farther from
town in a most beautiful situation have been purchased for 4400/. This new
garden is at present being laid out, and there can be no doubt that when

- completed it will form by far the most beautiful botanic garden in Scotland. —
A. B. Glasgow, April 6. 1840.

Jelly from the Berries of Ribes sanguineum. — A pot of jelly made from the
berries of this shrub was exhibited at the autumn meeting of the Caledonian
Horticultural Society, by Mr. James Kellock, gardener to Mr. Younger, of
Craigielands, Moffat, who received a premium. (Edinburgh Courant, Sept. 10.
1840.)

Names of African Plants. — At the meeting of the British Association at
Glasgow, Dr. Walker Arnot read a paper to show that a vast number of
different names had been given to many plants of the same kind; and ex-
pressed a hope that some arrangement would be adopted by which the con-
fusion thus created might be removed. (Lit. Gaz., Oct. 31. 1840.)

Art. III. Retrospective Criticism.

Mr. PENN’s Practice in Heating, §c.—In answer to your enquiries as _to the
success of my system of warming and ventilating hothouses, I beg to say that
I have been in general very successful ; but, in some instances, there has been
a deficiency of heat during the last most severe and trying winter, which I find
has happened not only to my system but to every other. The experience of
this winter has proved to me the expediency of putting the heating-pipes in
the front instead of the back of the houses; and I also find it preferable to
have the pipes in a casing above the ground floor, rather than under it. I
have this winter tried the pipes uncovered, which I think, in some cases, su-
perior to covering them. In some cases where I have put up apparatus, I
have found some slight alterations in the replacing the pipes, &c., necessary ;
which I find myself called upon to make without any expense to my employers.

232 Retrospective Criticism.

I have lately heated a new house, 300 ft. long, and 40 ft. wide, for T. Ashton
Smith, Esq., it was not finished till the latter end of November, when the
bricks and mortar were all very wet and cold, as well as the ground and
drains. The apparatus was put to work as soon as finished: of course it
was not to be expected that there would be a sufficient quantity of heat at
first, which has been the case in this most extraordinary severe winter ; this is
not at all'surprising at a time when there has been a general complaint of want
of heat under all systems.

I shall feel great pleasure in showing any gentlemen my houses and plants ;
they will then be convinced that the fault is not in the system, though at first
I think it was not applied by me in the most beneficial manner.— John Penn.
Lewisham, March 15. 1841.

Mr. Penn’s Mode of Heating and Ventilating Hothouses.— From the account
you gave of it in the Gardener's Magazine for March, 1840, and my high
opinion of the author, I was inclined to become quite a convert to the system,
but a recent visit to the seat of T. A. Smith, Esq., Tidworth House, Hants,
has quite altered my views on-the subject.

Mr. Smith being a gentleman of immense wealth, and particularly attached
to horticultural pursuits, had allowed the system to be adopted to great extent
under the immediate superintendence of Mr. Penn, sparing no expense and
grudging no sacrifice, to give the system a fair trial. The result, I am sorry
to state, terminated in utter disappointment. The heated air from the tubes
in place of revolving, as shown by the arrows in your section, Vol. for 1840,
fig. 19. p. 122., remained perfectly stagnant and stationary at the top of the
house ; and in place of being a “uniform revolving heat,” as stated by
Mr. Penn, was in reality remarkably partial, and deficient of the desired
temperature, had it been general ; as a proof of which, during the late frost
the houses and pits were completely covered with a sheet of ice and snow,
except a small space at the top directly over each of the tubes (which in this
instance were situated inside); the branches of the peach trees enjoying the
warm air from the mouths of the tubes were in full blossom, whilst the other
branches showed not the least symptoms of excitement; at the same time, the
houses and pits requiring a higher temperature could not be raised above 40°,
the frost at that time amounting only to 10°. This deficiency, I understood,
was at first attributed to the improper attention of the men in charge of the
fires. One of Mr. Penn’s foremen was immediately sent down, who, after
sitting up all night, succeeded in only maintaining a lower temperature than
the regular attendants, under similar circumstances. The fuel used there is
the anthracite coal. Lest the desideratum should have arisen from fresh
damp materials, absorption, and the like, a patient and protracted trial of a
couple of months was still persisted in, after which the necessity of abandoning
the system was deemed indispensable. The exposed pipes and movable sashes
are now resumed and accompanied by their anticipated favourable results.
A little reflection might possibly convince any one of the impracticability of
keeping the sashes screwed down, as advised, during a scorching summer’s day.
The powerful boiler erected by Mr. Penn still remains, and is much approved
of, performing that work with ease, which, during the concealment of the pipes,
it was incapable of.

A large span-roofed conservatory, 300 ft. in length by 40 ft. in breadth, has
during the past autumn and winter been erected at Tidworth House, for the
culture of both horticultural and floricultural productions, and also to furnish
an agreeable retreat and promenade for the family during the winter months.
The interior contains two large longitudinal beds, or borders, interrupted by a
circle of gravel and a transverse walk in the centre of the house, one broad
gravel walk in the middle, and two narrower ones on either side. It is heated
by Mr. Penn from one large boiler; the hot-water pipes are arranged under
the centre of the two borders, transmitting heated air to the house by means
of cylindrical metallic tubes, about 20 ft. apart; a line of circular gratings in
the centre of the three gravel walks, intended to receive the cold air, com-

Retrospective Criticism. 1233

municate with the transverse drains in the interstices of the tubes. They
succeeded with great difficulty in keeping out the frost during the late severe
winter, and now the season is further advanced, and the weather more clement,
the plants and vegetables look remarkably well, reflecting great credit on Mr.
Saunders, the gardener, who is a young man particularly assiduous and per-
severing in his habits, and of very superior ability.

It must be distinctly understood that no perceptible current of revolving air
was ever discovered either in this or the former-mentioned structures, during
the closed state of the sashes, (naturally an ascent of heated air from the
tubes to their vertex, amounting, perhaps, to an agitating current, but no re-
volution,) consequently ventilation was resorted to, and is continued in the
usual way, and it is expected, before another winter ensues, the pipes will be
exposed, and thus a due chance of the requisite emission of heat afforded them.

It was glazed by Mr. Drake, with British sheet glass, which gives it a re-
markably neat and elegant appearance; but the laps being entirely closed with
putty, or other cement, an immense drip of condensed vapour is the con-
sequence, which evil, it is thought, will lead to the tedious expedient of
reopening the laps. —G. C. March 11. 1841. :

On this communication we have to observe that we recommended Mr.
Penn’s mode of heating on the following grounds: 1. because it had attained
what always has appeared to us a very desirable object in hothouses (see
Encyc. of Gard., edit. 1824, p. 313.), the complete circulation of the air
within, without admitting any air from without, and without diminishing its
moisture : 2. because Mr. Penn authorised us to state (see our Volume for
1840, p. 128.) that, in any case in which he was employed, if he were not suc-
cessful, he would reinstate the houses as he found them, at his own expense ;
so that no gentleman by trying his plan could be any great loser: and 3.
knowing Mr. Penn to be a man of probity and property, we felt confident, as
we now do, that he would be able, as well as willing, to keep his word.

That Mr. Penn has not been successful either in producing sufficient heat,
or in effecting a complete circulation of the air, in more than one instance, is
a fact which cannot be denied ; but, as he has been most successful in the
case of his own houses, and also in those of Mr. Wilmott, the fault is evidently
not in the principle, but in its application. Having brought Mr. Penn’s
system into notice, however, we must leave it to work its way among other
systems; and, though we are satisfied that the circulation of the air in hot-
houses is an advantage, and that the system of cross drains which Mr. Penn
adopts is the best hitherto devised for this purpose, yet we by no means ex-
pect that every gardener is to agree with us in opinion. We know that there
are some who set little value on the circulation of air among plants, except in
the case of setting fruits; but we have never been among that number. In-
dependently of the plants, the advantage of a circulation, in all houses which
are to be walked into in order to examine the productions, will not, we think,
be denied, except by those who wish to deprive Mr. Penn’s system of all
merit whatever. Were Mr. Ashton Smith’s conservatory ours, we would try
Mr. Penn’s system two or three times, before we would give up the advantages
of air in motion to walk in.

It will be seen by a previous communication from Mr. Penn, as well as in
the article by M. N. T., in our January Number, p. 42., that Mr. Penn has
made several improvements in his arrangements, one of the greatest of which
is placing the pipes in front, and another is placing those in the middle of
span-rooted houses in an uncovered drain or box, with which the cross drains
communicate. With respect to ‘a passage in the above communication in
which the writer speaks of “ the impracticability of keeping the sashes screwed
down, as advised, during a scorching summer’s day,” we can only say that, if
any thing of this kind has been advised by us, we are in error; if Mr. Penn
has advised it it is rather singular, because in the summer season he always
opens the top sashes of his own houses. If the writer alludes to us, it must
be to the following passage: “ When it appears desirable to change the air of

234 Retrospective Criticism. .

the house, this is not done by opening the sashes in the usual way, but by
taking the stoppers out of openings, &c., in the drain containing the hot-water
pipes, and communicating with the open air.” (Gard. Mag., 1840, p. 122.)
This passage, it should have been stated, refers only to winter treatment, the
article having been written in February. — Cond.

Mr. Penn’s Mode of Heating at Chatsworth.—In our Volume for 1840,
p. 578., we have stated that an orchidaceous house at Chatsworth is “ being
heated by Mr. Penn,” and we have given a section of the house. Mr. Penn,
as well as some other correspondents, has called our attention to the following
paragraph in the Gard. Chron. for January 30. “ There is no truth in the state-
ment mentioned by a constant reader, that either the orchidaceous house or the
vast conservatory at Chatsworth is heated upon Mr. Penn’s plan. We strongly
advise him not to adopt this much-talked-of method of heating, concerning
which we shall have some observations to offer in our next number.” (Gard.
Chron., Jan. 30. p. 73.) We were aware of the paragraph, but did not think
it worth notice, being satisfied of the truth of our assertion in the passage
to which we have above referred. Mr. Penn, however, looks upon it in a
different light, and requests us to state that he has heated an orchidaceous
house at Chatsworth, and that it has given satisfaction ; in proof of which he
has shown us a letter from Mr. Paxton, from which we extract the following
passage: “I have great pleasure in being able to express my entire satis-
faction as to the efficiency of heat at command, and the general working of
this excellent method of heating in the houses here. I perceive it is creating a
great stir in Loudon’s Magazine, but people will continue to write about
what is a riddle to themselves.” —( Signed) Joseph Paxton. Chatsworth Gardens,
Jan. 13. 1841.

See, on the same subject, Mr. Main, in p. 208.

Mr, Niven’s Stove for various Purposes. (p. 49.)—I am surprised to find
that any man with the slightest pretensions to. practical knowledge in any of
the departments of gardening should ever venture, in 1841, to propose, and
far less to advocate, the adaptation of one house for so many purposes; and,
according to his own account, with the most sanguine expectations-of success
in all. Should therefore the result be such as Mr. Niven holds out, and the
public are given to expect, we may bid farewell to any thing like extensive
ranges of glass being put up in future. Really one would suppose that, instead
of Mr. Niven having been in the habit of enlightening the horticultural world
with something new, either in his tasteful suitable erections as a garden
architect and landscape-gardener, or superior system of management, as one
would be led to expect from his former, and I believe present, practice as a
superintending practical gardener, he had just awakened out of a com-
fortable sleep, which he had been snugly enjoying for these last thirty or forty
years, and had written his article before he was quite awake ; so far does he
appear to be in the wake of the march of improvement on most of the topics
he has advanced. For example, Mr. Niven talks of the youth of queen
pines started at two years old! Why, any practical gardener who knows
any thing at all of growing pines would rarely have a two-year-old queen
pine in his house ; as, under judicious management, with even the old-fashioned
bottom-heating medium of tan, with all the risks of burning, as it is called,
the queen pine will produce a better fruit, yes, a heavier fruit, and J will
vouch as well flavoured, at eighteen months as ever Mr. Niven’s would; and I
will allow him to add another year to his too early fruiting plants, with all the
advantages of his bed of nutritive matter, as a medium for planting in, as well
as his magazine of moist heated air into the bargain.

Again, Mr. Niven, speaking of the guava (Z’sidium Cattleydnum), hopes
that it will prove an interesting and desirable addition to the dessert. Why,
Psidium Cattley¢num has been proved to be what he, Mr. Niven, hopes to
see it ; and was sent to table as a dessert fruit in the neighbourhood of Lon-
don, and also to the tables of many of the nobility and gentry throughout
England, a dozen years ago.

Retrospective Criticism. 235

Not only, also, does Mr. Niven’s horticultural stove exceed any thing here-
tofore erected in its suitability to all sorts of vegetable productions, but in
the manner in which it expedites their perfection: as, for instance, in regard
to the cucumber, Mr. Niven affirms that, in six weeks from sowing, cucum-
bers were cut from 18 in. to 2 ft. in length!

In conclusion, I beg to observe that there is nothing I should more desire
than to meet in competition with Mr. Niven and his pipe-heated vine borders,
with one which. I should lay down on the old-fashioned plan, which, for Mr.
Niven’s information, I will state in detail. It is as follows: let the border
be excavated 12 ft. wide, 3ft. deep at the wall of the house, sloping to 4 ft.
at the walk, along the side of which is to be made a drain to carry off all
superabundant water. Let then the bottom be pared and beaten as smooth
and firm as it possibly can be made. Then fill in a layer of any dry rubbish,
brickbats, if to be had, to the depth of one foot. Over this let there be
closely fitted a sod, of from two to three inches thick, with the grass side
down, and over that the compost. The materials, and the component parts
of which being a matter of opinion, I shall leave every one to judge for them-
selves. Thus the border, when finished, would in compost be 2 ft. deep at
the wall of the house, and 3 ft. at the walk. A border prepared and planted
after this method, protecting the stems and roots with litter in winter and
early spring forcing, I will engage to furnish as well ripened wood, to produce
as early and as abundant a crop, and as well flavoured fruit, as Mr. Niven
can possibly do with his expensive pipe-heated border. Nay better ; for Iam
convinced that to heat pipes encased in the earth, so that their influence shall
be felt one foot from the drain or cut in which they are laid, will cause the
earth to become baked to that consistency that every particle of that nutritious
matter which constitutes the food of the plant would be utterly destroyed.—
Catius. Belfast, March 9. 1841.

Comparatwe Temperature of different Years. (p. 147.)—I have perused with
much pleasure, and I trust some profit, the ingenious article on the subject of
temperature by N, M, T., though I differ from him in some particulars. In
the first place, instead of the average temperature not varying more than half
a degree, it will be found to vary as much as 5°; so that the seasons would
appear to be not “ invariably alike,” but rather invariably unlike. A warm
summer does not always follow a cold winter; though this is frequently the
case. It is more certain that a series of cold seasons is succeeded by a series
of hot ones. I do not think plants can be acclimatised, They are, in my
opinion, immutable in their natures. A stunted exotic will bear, for instance,
more cold than one grown so as to exhibit its natural vigour; but take a cut-
ting from it, grow it as it grows in its native country, and it will be found to
possess its original suceptibility. Seedlings, even without crossing, do vary ;
and by always selecting the hardiest, a little may be done in the way of aec-
climatising, in the course of successive generations, but not much. — N.
London, Feb., 1841.

Architectural Objects in Gardens. — You cannot think how cordially I agree
with you in the opinion that no architectural object ought to rise out of dug
ground, To baskets, rustic objects, rockwork, and almost every thing, I
apply the same rule, and so outrageously fastidious am I on this point, that,
in English or turf gardens, I cannot bear to see even shrubs do so; even the
dug clumps in the grounds I fill so that the plants overstep, as it were, their —
bounds, and kiss the turf on each side, and cut or train them so as to main-
tain their form perfect ; but I detest to see that form marked out by a staring
piece of sodden earth. I could almost quarrel with you for digging round the -
hillocks in the Derby Arboretum. — NV. M. T.. Feb. 1841.

The hillocks alluded to are not to be dug, but only to be covered with short
grass till the plants are so far grown as to render this care unnecessary. (See
Gard. Mag. for 1841, p. 542.)

Shriveling of Grapes. —In p. 170. I observe an article on the shriveling

236 Retrospective Criticism.

of grapes, by Mr. R. Errington, in which, I think, he misrepresents the article
by me in p. 45.; and, presuming that the Magazine is open for mutual discussion
upon gardening topics, I take this opportunity of forwarding a few remarks
on Mr. Errington’s paper, as far as it relates to mine. In the first place, he
states that Mr. R. Wilson “ has had a vinery, in which, whilst the atmo-
sphere in the house was West Indian, the roots were at the same time under-
going all the rigours of a Siberian winter.” Now this I do not mean to deny,
but I would like to know what Mr. Errington would have done if he had been
placed in similar circumstances. Let him suppose himself at the foot of the
north side of the Carter Fells, a range of hills, or rather mountains, which
divides the counties of Northumberland and Roxburgh, with a large vinery
just on the point of coming into flower, which he had to attend to during a
truly Siberian-like winter night. In such a manner I was situated in March
1837. The previous month was very mild and fine weather, as was all the
spring, taking it in a general view; but, if Mr. Errington will take the trouble
of referring to the several meteorological journals for March, 1837, he will
find that there were eight days of continued frost in London, commencing on
the 19th. Now, let him think what it would be in Scotland, where nature
does not bless us with such mild winters as you have in England. I find on
comparing my journal with the article by me in the Magazine, that I have
made a mistake in stating that the external thermometer stood at 13°; it was
at 18° upon the 24th of March, 1837; and I mentioned it only as an evidence
against Dr. Lindley’s opinion quoted by W.H. Mr. Errington, after alluding
to the Siberian winter which he says our vine roots were undergoing, adds,
alluding to me, “ now this he has done three successive years ;” but, if he will
take the trouble to examine my paper, he will find that I never so much as
alluded to such a thing. I said that we never had a shriveled grape during
the three years I was at Edgerston. Mr. Errington afterwards states that I
said that by these means I obtained the medal at the Jedburgh Society ; this
also is erroneous; and, in making the assertion, he has fallen to just the very
error that he complains of your Cotswold correspondent committing, namely,
jumping at conclusions, which, by the by, I think he ought not to have men-
tioned when we take his own conclusions into consideration. I had it not in
my power to take medals ; as I was at the time alluded to, in 1837, foreman
under Mr. Thomas Weir, who is allowed to be one of the best forcing gar-
deners in the South of Scotland. As I am upon the subject of the ‘shriveling
of grapes, which certainly is an important one, I may be pardoned for giving
my opinion on it once more. As I stated before, I do not think that it pro-
ceeds from coldness of the outside border; that, of course, will have a ten-
dency to weaken the vine, but it has nothing to do with shriveling. Nor do
I acquiesce with W. H. in supposing that it proceeds from the richness of the
border. Ihave seen a good many vineries, where I considered the vines over-=
luxuriant, in different parts of the country; and, when such is the case, the
vines are generally long-jointed and unfruitful ; but, in my humble opinion, in
many such instances, even that might be obviated by proper pruning, and
ripening the wood well in the autumn. In any house under my charge, I
should not like to be tied to either one or two modes of pruning, which, I
presume, ought to depend entirely upon the habit of the vine. In fact, I do
not believe there is one case out of ten, where shriveling proceeds from the
border at all. In most imstances it is the want of proper attention to heat
and air, at that particular period of the growth of the grapes when they com-
mence colouring ; and, where there is a miscellaneous collection of vines in
one house, that period is attended with no small risk. What strengthens my
opinion is, the disease is not so prevalent in Scotland as it is in England, and
consequently artificial means are to be the more relied upon, such as fire, &c.
In fact, by superior growers, the fires are never dropped at all, applying either
less or more, until the fruit is all cut, and the wood well ripened ; so that the
atmosphere is always dry, which is so essential to the proper culture of the
vine, as soon as the grapes commence colouring. Of the vineries that I alluded

Queries and Answers. 237

to, p. 45., the first was usually started about the first of January, and the next
in April.—Robert Wilson, gardener to W. Grey, Esq. Norton, March 6. 184.1,

Transmission of Cuttings by Post.—In p. 88. 1 observe a note respecting
the transmission of cuttings by post, wherein it is recommended to wrap them
in tin-foil. I consider the employment of this substance quite unnecessary ;
for the only danger is that of the cuttings being broken, should the letter be
crushed or doubled across its length, and against a force that would effect this,
the tin-foil would afford but little if any resistance. —D. Saul, Lancaster,
Feb. 1841,

ArT. IV. Queries and Answers.

PREVENTING Hares and Rabbits from injuring the Bark of Trees. — A corre-
spondent in p. 96. enquires whether there is any preparation which will
prevent hares and rabbits injuring young trees. I have used very extensively
a mixture of soot and milk, and found it very successful. The soot and milk
should be well mixed together till they are of the consistency of paint, and
applied with a brush to the stems of the trees when the weather is dry. I
have used it for some years in the plantations here, where previously the ash
trees, even of considerable size, were much gnawed by the hares and rabbits.
The black colour which remains upon the trees for two or three years is of no
consequence in a plantation, though it might be objectionable in a pleasure-
ground or shrubbery. — W. Leveson Gower, jun. Titsey Place, Godstone.

To prevent the Ravages of Hares and Rabbits on Forest Trees. (p. 96.) —
To one gallon of coal tar add 3 lb. of hog’s lard, increasing it to any extent,
applying it with the hand or a painter’s brush (the former I consider best) to
the height of 4 or 5 feet. This will prove an effectual remedy, such being
their aversion from tar, that, were a circle drawn round a tree at a small distance
from it, they will rarely or never enter it. I need not add, this will not in the
least injure the trees. —John Fish. Colney House, Hertfordshire, Feb. 12. 1841.

felling resinous Trees. —What season do you consider the best for cutting
down the timber of the spruce fir, Scotch pine, and other resinous trees ? —
W. LL. Gower, jun.

We should say any time in the course of the winter months, the sap being
then in a comparatively dormant state. In Sweden, and in the Alps and
Pyrenees, resinous trees are felled during summer as well as winter, not
because it is the best season, but because it is the most convenient one. See
Arb. Brit., vol, viii. p. 2135. We shall be glad to hear the opinions and
practices of practical men in Britain on this subject. — Cond.

Painting Vines with Clay. (p. 96.) — Allow me to ask Mr. Fish whether
painting vines with clay, soft soap, and sulphur, is a cure for the curl, as well
as a preventive of the hatching of the eggs of insects ? —W. Wilson, Brag-
den Gardens, Northumberland, Feb. 15. 1841,

Art. V. Biography of the late Mr. William Beattie, F.H.S.

‘From the commencement of the Gardener’s Magazine it has been usual to
notice individuals who have distinguished themselves in the profession, and to
offer some tribute of respect to their memory when they have been removed
by death from the sphere of their usefulness, to the regret of their friends and
of those who have either benefited from their advice, or profited by their in-
struction ; to few could such a mark of respect be offered with more propriety
than to the late William Beattie, F.H.S., who, for a long series of years con-
ducted the gardening and foresting departments, as well as the improvements
generally, on the extensive estates of the Right Honourable the Earl of Mans-
field, at Scone, near Perth. I have long expected that some of his pupils
more competent than myself would have performed the task which I have

238 Biography : — William Beattie.

undertaken ; but, as no one has felt it to be his duty to do so, I beg to supply
the omission by the accompanying memoir, for the particulars of which } am
partly indebted to his nephew, my friend and fellow-pupil at Scone, Mr. Booth,
now the gardener and general superintendant at Carclew, Cornwall.

The subject of this brief notice was born at Wasthill in the parish of Old
Rain, Aberdeenshire, in 1758, and from being an only son was originally in-
tended for the church; with this view his early years were passed at the

arish school, where he obtained a far more liberal education than usually
falls to the lot of those who even at the present day adopt the profession of a
gardener ; and to this very circumstance did he often look back with great
satisfaction, and ascribe much of the success and happiness that attended him
through life. Just as his friends had made arrangements for sending him to
college he had the misfortune to meet with a serious accident which confined
him for a long time, and ultimately had the effect of completely altering his
future plans and prospects ; the delicate state of his health rendering a change
advisable, he removed to the neighbouring parish of Moneymusk where some
of his friends resided, and there he formed the resolution of becoming a
gardener. Sir Archibald Grant, justly celebrated as one of the greatest
planters of his time, and of whom Scotland has reason to be proud, was then
carrying on extensive alterations at his seat ; and, considering this would be a
good school, he made application, and was successful in gaining admission to
the gardens of Moneymusk, where he served his apprenticeship ; on its ex-
piration he went to Edinburgh, and was employed at Arniston, the seat of the
then Lord President Dundas, at that time a noted place for young gardeners.
From thence he went to London, with letters of introduction to his coun-
trymen, Mr. Malcolm, the eminent nurseryman at Stockwell, and Mr. Forsyth
of the Apothecaries’ Garden at Chelsea ; and, by means of their recommendation,
he soon succeeded in obtaining the situation of gardener to the Marquess of
Bute, at his seat in Hampshire: but the greater part of the time (nearly
twenty years) which he resided in England, he acted as land-steward and
gardener at Losset Hall in Yorkshire, and to the Duke of Dorset, at Knowle
in Kent. His intimacy with Mr. Forsyth continued until the death of the
latter, in 1804; it was entirely through that gentleman he was introduced to
the late Earl of Mansfield, and received his appointment to Scone, where he
lived for nearly thirty-four years. The formation of the gardens, and con-
ducting of the very extensive alterations and improvements during this long
period, at that princely place, will remain for many years as a proof of his
talent and ability. He was kind and considerate to those employed under him;
and I believe nothing gave him more real pleasure than to see his young as-
sistants endeavouring to improve themselves in matters regarding their pro-
fession, or to hear of their good success in life after they had left Scone. On
his retiring from the arduous duties of his situation in 1837, the late Lord
‘Mansfield not only altowed him to retain his salary, but presented him with
several articles of value. Amongst the latter, an elegant silver box, engraven
with an inscription expressive of his esteem and regard. Indeed all the
members of that noble family were unremitting in their attention to him during
the remainder of his life.

He was a corresponding member of the Caledonian Horticultural Society,
and a fellow of the Horticultural Society of London, to both of which he con-
tributed one or two papers, which are published in their T’ransactions. He
was married, but had no family, and died on the 2d of April, 1839. His remains
were interred in the churchyard at New Scone, (as well as those of Mrs.
Beattie who survived him only twelve months,) near to the monument now
erecting by public subscription to commemorate the unfortunate Douglas,
who was also at one time his pupil and assistant. — James Duncan. Basing
Park, Alton, Hants, March 3. 1841.

THE
GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,
‘MAY, 1841.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Art. I. List of Plants adapted for a Conservative Wall, with
Remarks on some of the Species. By Joun Scott.

In accordance with your wish, expressed on the cover of the Gardener’s Ma-
gazine for Dec. 1840, I have forwarded to you a list of plants calculated for
a flued (or otherwise heated) wall, with the means of protection, similar to
that at Chatsworth. Ihave arranged it according to the natural system; but
I have omitted the sub-orders on purpose, in order to shorten the article as
much as possible. Iam afraid you will think that it is still too voluminous, and,
perhaps, that I am too sanguine with regard to some of the species ; but,
as I have not inserted any plant upon the authority of others, but have con-
fined myself to my own knowledge and experience on the subject, I send it
with the greater confidence. As it may be asked whence I drew my ex-
perience, I answer, that the greater portion of my life has been devoted to
the pursuit of botany and gardening. Early taught to range the mountain
steep in search of plants, I naturally imbibed a taste for them; for, at the
age of 14, I had acquired, perhaps, more hard names than generally fall to
the lot of gardeners. At that period the names were chiefly cryptogamic ;
but since then a much wider sphere of botanic research and floricultural action
has been my hap.

Bred in some of the best plant gardens of Europe, I have had an opportu-
nity of becoming acquainted with thousands of species little known to some
of my brethren of the spade. Amongst these gardens, that of Edinburgh
was a field rich with interest and instruction to me, and particularly in the
kind of plants composing my list ; and it was from the herbarium and notes
I made there, and at Biel in East Lothian, that I have principally been able
to compile it; although I have pressed into my service many species from
other collections, indeed, wherever I may have seen them tried out. At
Clermont, under Mr. M‘Intosh, I had facilities of testing a great many
kinds, both in the open borders and against the walls. Nor have I been in-
attentive in visiting the nurseries around London, and in gleaning what informa-
tion I could on this very interesting subject. But the most important collection,
and that which abounds in the greatest number of species, and from which
I have drawn liberally, is the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, numbering about
18,000 kinds. Here I had an opportunity of reconsidering nearly all that I
had known before on the subject ; and, although Ihave perhaps enumerated
some species little known in England, yet our communication with our neigh-
bours is so easy, that they may soon be procured. Thus far I have endea-
voured to show that my list is not founded upon a theoretical, but upon a
practical basis ; and, should it be the means of causing even one more plant to
be cultivated out of doors, I shall feel more than repaid for having furnished it.

Here I had intended to have made a few remarks upon the building, heat-
ing, and general management of a conservative wall, but I find that I must
postpone these to a future opportunity.

Milford Nursery, Jan, 28. 1841.

1841. — V. 3d Ser. R

240

Plants adapted for a Conservative Wall,

Those species marked with a star (*) are the more hardy; those with a

Ranunculdcee.
Clématis L.

+chinénsis Retz.
*japdnica Dec.
+florida Thunb.

+flore pléno A. B.

*Sieboldtz D. Don.
*ceertilea Lindl.
*crispa B. M.

Winteracese R. Br.

Hlfcium L.
*floridanum Edis
anisatum L.
parviflorum Miche.
Wintera Willd.

aromatica Willd.
Magnoliaceze Dec. Syst.
Magnolia L.

+grandiflora L.

+ several varieties.
tglaica L.
+conspicua Salis.
+purpurea B. M.
+gracilis Par Lond.
+fuscata Andr.
pumila Andr.
Dilleniaceze Dec.
Hibbértia L.
Cunninghamia R. Br.
volubilis Z. —
dentata B. R.
grossularizefolia B. MM.
Schizandracee Arb. Brit.
Schizandra Miche.
coccinea Mich.
Kadstra Willd.
japonica Willd.
Menispermacee Dec. Pr.

Cécculus Bauh.
*carolinus Dec.
Menispérmum L.
+canadénse L.
+dauricum Dec.
+smilacinum Dec.
longifolium Hort, Par.
Berberaceze Lindl.
Bérberis L.
fdalcis Sw.
+rotundifolia Hort.
+empetrifolia Lam.
‘Tdealbata B. R.
Mahonia Nutt.
*fascicularis Dec.

dagger (+) the most so,

*nervosa Nutt.
+ Aquifolium Nuté.
yrépens G. Don
And. probably all
the new sorts sent
home by M. Hartweg.
Nandina L.
‘Fdoméstica L.

Fumaridcee Dec. Syst.
Adlumia Dec.

*cirrhosa Dec.

Cruciacee Arb. Brit.

Mathiola L.
*fenestralis Jacq.
Cheiranthus ZL.
*mutabilis B. MM.
frutéscens Pers.
*/inifolius Dec.
Ibeéris L.
*semperflorens (?)
gibraltarica B. MM,

Lepidium L.

*oraminifolium Cav.
/Ethionéma Dec.
+membranacea Hort.
*corifolia H. Paris.
Moricandia Sw.
arvénsis Sw.
Vélla D.
-+Pseudo-Cytisus L.
Zilla Dec.
myagroides Dec.
Crambe L.
fruticosa Dec.
Capparidacee Lindl.
Capparis L.
*spinosa L.
ovata Desf.
zeyptia Delil.
Resedacee Dec. Theor.
Reséda Willd:

glauca Spreng.
scoparia Spreng.
fruticulosa Spreng.
Cistdcee Lindl.
Cistus L.
incanus L.
cymosus Dun.
salvieefolius L.
*latifolius Sw.
Helianthemum Tourn.
* Libanotis Willd.
*alearvense Dun.

*formosum Dun.
Many other species
are equally beautiful,
and well calculated
for the bottom of a
wall er rockwork.

Polygalacee Arb. Brit.

. Polygala L.

oppositifolia B. P.
grandiflora Lod. B.C.
bracteolata B. MZ. ~
speciosa B. R.
Murdltia Dec.
Heistérza B. M.
mixta B. MV.
Mindia Dec.
spinosa Dec.

Pittosporacee Arb. Brit.

Billardiéra Sm.
scandens Sw. FU. Aust.

*longiflora B. Mag.
mutabilis B. .V/.

*ovalis Lindl.

Sollya Lindl.
heterophylla Lindl.
linearis Lind.
angustifolia Lind/.

Pronaya Lindl.
élegans Lindl.

Pitt6sporum Banks

*Tobira Ait.
fol. variegatis Hort.
undulatum B, R.
tomentosum Bonp.
hirtum Willd.

Bursaria
spinosa B. MM.

Frankeniacee Dec.Prod.

Frankénia L.
corymbosa Desf.

Caryophyllacee Arb. Br.
Diinthus L.
arbuscula B. R.
fruticosus Fi. Gr.
carolinianus.
*Caryophyllus L.
*fruticosus Hort.
Drypis L.
spinosa L.
Lindcee Arb. Brit.
Linum L.
*flavum Willd.
trigynum ZL.

with Remarks on some of the Species.

quadrifolium
suffruticosum
arboreum L.
monogynum Hort.

Malvace@ Dec. Prod.

Malva L.
scoparia Jacq.
capensis B. RK,
aspérrima Jacq.
miniata Cav.
*Creedna Hort.
*Munrozana B. R.
7osea Mlor. Mex.
obtusiloba B. M.
Lavatera L.
acerifolia Lois.
O'lbia Cav.
Psetido-O'lbia Poir.
triloba B. M.

*maritima Dec. Fl. Fr.

fTibiscus L.
hispidus B. R.

Bombacee Dec. Prod.

Plagianthus Forst.
divaricatus Forsé.

Sterculidceeé Lindl.

Sterculia L.
platanifolia ZL.

Bytineriacee.

Commersonia And. Rep.
dasyphylla And.

Lasiopetalacee.

Thomasia Dec:
solanacea Dec.

Hermannia L.
plicata Jacq.
salvifolia Cav.
scabra Jacq.

Mahérnia L.
pinnata B. VM.
incisa B, 14.

Tildcee Dec. Prod.

Entélea B. M7.
arboréscens B. MV.

Sparrmannia B. M.
africana B. .

Eleocarpacee.

Elezocarpus Burm,
cyaneus B. B.

Gordoniaceze.

Stuartia Willd.
*virginica Willd.

Gordénia Ellis
*Lasianthus L.
*pubéscens Pursk

Camelliaceze.
Caméllia L.
japonica L.
Many varieties.
Thea L.

*viridis Z.
eurydides Lindl.
oleifera B. R.
Sasanqua Thunb.
maliflora B. R.
reticulata B. R.

Aurantiacee Hort. Lign.
Citrus L.
Medica
Limétta
Limonum
acida
aurantium Z.§.
Hypericacee Lindl.
Hypéricum L..
canariénse L.
patulum Thunb.
Uralum B. M.
balearicum ZL.
rosmarinifolium Dec.
empetrifolium Willd.
Coris L.
fasciculatum Lan.
And several others.

Aceraceeé Lindl.
Acer L.
*obléngum Wail.
palmatum Thunb.

Dodonzaces Dec.

Dodone‘a L.
triquetra Andr.
asplenifolia Rudg.

241

Melhdcee Dec.
Melia L.
* Azédarach \..
australis Swe.

A beautiful plant of
this fine tree, that had
attained the height of
18 ft. and 3in. diam.
was killed in 1838 in
the Jard. des Plantes.
it flowered profusely
every year.

Ekebérgia Lam.
capénsis Lam.

Vitacee Lindl.
Cissus L.
capénsis Willd.
*quinata Art.
Killed at Paris to
the ground in 1838.

Tropeclee Dec. Prod.’
Tropz‘olum
adincum B. R.
pentaphyllum 2. R.
tricolorum B. M.
brachyceras B. MM.

Ovwalidee Dec.

O’xalis L.
crenata Hort.

Zygophyllacee Hort. L.
Fagonia Dec.
arabica Dec.
Larrea Cav.
nitida Cav.
Zygophyllum L.
fee’tidum L.
album Dec.

Rutdcee Dec. Prod.
Rita L.
angustifolia Pers.
albiflora B. MZ.
chalapénsis Hort. Par.
Aplophyllum Juss.
suaveolens Don
linifolium Don
Adenandra Willd.
uniflora Willd.
speciosa B. MM.

§ These five species ought to be planted on a very porous subsoil or well-
drained border, and exposed to the full sun in summer ; for it is a mistaken

practice of many to shade oranges during the summer months.

On the Con-

tinent they are always exposed to the hottest sun, which is rational, as the
wood has the advantage of being better ripened, and, is consequently enabled

to resist the winter better.

R 2

242

Empletrum
serrulatum S$).
Correea L.
Alba Andr. Rep.
rufa
pulchélla Sw.
speciosa B. R.
Ziéeria
Smithz Bot. Rep.
Coridcee Hort. Lig.
Coriaria Niss.
*sarmentosa Forst.

Celastrdacee Dec.

EHuodnymus Tourn.
*japonicus Thunb.
*fol. argént Hort.
*fol atreis Hort.
lucidus D. Don
Celastrus L.
punctatus Dec.
- tetragonus Dec.

Aquifoliacee Dec. Prod.

Cassine L.
capénsis L.

Hartogia Dec.
capensis L.

This is quite a dis-
tinct plant from what
is generally sold in
the nurseries for it,
viz. a dwarf variety of
common laurel.

Mex L.
*Perddo Lod. B. C.,
fine species.
Dahoon Willd.
Casstne Catesb.
*yomitoria Jacq.
speciosa Hort., very
fine foliage.

Rhamndcee Lindl.

Zizyphus Tourn.
Lotus Desf:
Spina Christ? Lam.
nitida Roxb.
flexuosa Wall,
Phylica plumosa H. B.
Rhamnus Lam.
crenulatus Att.
prindides L’ Herit.
Retanilla Brongniart
obcordata Brig.
Hovenia Lam.
acérba B. R.
Collétia Kth.
*spindsa Ath.
serratifolia Vent.

Pomadeérris.
*prunifolia Hort.
Colubrina Brongniart
triflora Grong.
Ceanothus L.
*azureus Desf.
*americanus LL.
*ovatus Desf.
*intermédius Pursh
nepalénsis Wall.
Bruniacesee R. Br.
Brunia Reem. et Sch.

ericoides 2. et S.
fermosa R. et S.

Homalindcee Lind}.

Blackwéllia Dec.
fagifolia Dec.
Aristoteélia L’ Herit.
* Macqui L’ Herit.
*fol. varieg. Hort.
Azara R. et Pav.
*dentata R. et Pav.
Anacardiacee Lindl.
Pistacia L.
atlantica Desf.
Rhis L. i
albida R. et S.
lobata Dec.
Schinus L.
Molle L.
Duvata Kth.
*depéndens Dec.
latifolia Grd.
*dentata Dec.
Cneorum L.
tricédccum ZL.
Leguminaceeé Arb. Brit.
Sophora Br.
macrocarpa Got. Cab.
velutina B. R.
Edwardsia.
*orandifiora B. M.
*chrysophylla B. R.
*microphylla B. 1. .
Virgilia L.
capensis B. MM.
aurea L’ Herit,
+tlutea Miche.
Although this fine
tree is perfectly hardy,
yet I think it deserves
a place here from the
beauty of its flowers.
Macrétropis Dec.
foe’tida Dec.
inodora Dec.
Anagyris Dee.

Plants adapted for a Conservative Wall,

foe’tida Lodd.
latifolia Dec.

Piptanthus Sw.
nepalénsis Sw.

Podalyria R. Br.
sericea B. MM.
buxifolia B. R.

Callistachys Dec.
lanceolata’ B. F.

Brachyséma Br.
latifolium B. R.
undulatum B. 2.

Gompholobium
polymérphum B. M7.

Jacksonia R. Br.
scoparia Lodd, B. C.
reticulata Dec.

Viminaria B. M.
denudata B. M.

Spherolobium Smith
Vimineum Sym.

Dillwynia Sm.
Junipérina B. C.

Kutaxia R. Br.
myrtifolia Br.
pungens Sw.

Euchilus B. R.
obcordatus B. R.

Pultenea B. M.
stricta B. M.
daphnoides
subumbellata (?)

Daviésia B. M.
latifolia B. VM.
mimosoides H, K.
ulicma Andr. Rep.
cordata B. R.

Mirbéelia B. M.
reticulata B. MM.
dilatata B. R.

Hovea Dec.
lanceolata B. MM.
purpurea Sw.
Célsi B. R.

Bossie‘a Vent.
Scolopéndrium Vert.
rufa Dec.

Goédia Salisb.
latifolia Sal.
pubéscens B. A.

Scoéttia H. K.
dentata H. K.

Templetonia B. M.
retusa B. R.
glatica B. VM.

Liparia B. WM.
sphe’rica B. MW.

Priestléya Dec.
villosa Lad.

with Remarks on some of the Species. 248

vestita B. AZ.
Hallia Dec.
alata Dec.
cordata Jacq.
Crotalaria Dec.
élegans Hort.
Loddigésia B..M.
oxalidifolia B. 1/4,
Anthyllis Z.
Barba Jovis. L.
Hermannia L.
erinacea L.
cytisoides Dec.
Oex L.
australis Clement.
Genista Lam.
elevata Poir.
canariénsis. B. R.
lmifolia. B. 1.
umbellata Pozi.
férox Poir.

monospérma Lam.

filipes Webb
Cytisus Dec.
lanigerus Dec.
racemosus Hort.
Adenocarpus Dec.
hispanicus Dec.
Ononis ZL.
‘crispa L.
Natrix Dec.
arenaria Dec.
angustifolia Lam.
Medicago L.
arborea L.
finifolia Hort.
Dorycium Dec.

*sufiruticosum Dec,

microphyllum
Lotus L.
anthylloides Vent.
atropurpureus
jJacobeus B. MW.
créticus Cav.
Psoralea L.
bituminosa Z.
glandulosa Sch.
tenuifolia Jacq.
eanéscens Dec.
americana Jack.
Carmichaélia R. Br.
australis
Indigéfera L.
australis Willd.
sylvatica Bieb.
Dumasia Dec.
villosa Dec.
Dalea Dec.
phymatdides Dec.

Tephrosia Dec.
sophoroides Dec.
hispidula Dec.

Amorpha L.

*olabra Desf.
*nina Nutt.
canéscens Nutt.

Robinia L.

*hispida L.

Coursetia Dec..
tomentosa Dec..

Caléphaca Fisch.

*wolgarica Fisch..

Swainsonia Salisb.
galegifolia Brown
coronillafolia Salisd.
albiflora B. R.

Lessértia Dec.
procimbens Dec.

Sutherlanda Brown

*frutéscens B. M.
microphylla Burch.

Astragalus Dec.
cephalotes Pall.
fruticosus Pall..

Coronilla Neck.

jancea L.
*valentina LD.
*glatca L.

Hippocrépis Brit. Fl...
balearica Jacq.

Hedysarum L.
fruticosum L.

Lespedéza Michx..
frutéscens Dec.

Clianthus
puniceus Hort.

E’benus L.
crética L.

Vicia L..
capénsis Dec.

Lathyrus £.

*orandiflorus B. MW.
*latifolius H. Bot.
*albiflorus Hort.

O’robus L.

atropurpureus Desf.

Many other species
belonging to Viciéz
(although hardy) are
particularly deserving
of a place on. a con-
servatory wall.. [have
only enumerated afew,
as representatives of
the tribe.

Kenneédya Dec.

rubicinda B. MM.
prostrata B. M.
R 3

Marryatte B. R.?.

coccinea B. R. ep
inophylla B. R. |
tricolor B. R. iS
pannosa Hort. =
dilatata(?) Hort. JS
Comptoniana B. R.
digitata B. R. (Hard.
Hugélz (?) (ae

angustifolia (?)

glabrata B. R.(Zich.)

Jarratié Hort.

*monophylla Vent

longiracemosa B. R.

*nigricans B. R.

ovata B. M.

Stirling? (?)

splendens B. R.

This splendid genus,
although not all equally
hardy, may with care be
preserved on a hot-wall,
especially the kennedyas
andhardenbergias. The
zichyas are more impa-
tient of cold, especially
tricolor and_ glabrata ;
this last will not stand
above 4° frost, whilst the
others will stand from
6° to 8°.

Rhynchosia Dec.
difformis Dec.
Wistaria Arb. Brit.

+frutéscens Dec.
+chinénsis Dec.

*Backhousiana Hort.
A‘pies Dec.

*tuberdsa Dec.
Canavalia Dec.

bonariénsis B. R.
Lupinus L.

*arboreus B. WV.
mutabilis Sw.
Cylista Dec.
mollis (?)
Erythrina LZ.

herbacea B. MZ.

Jaurifolia Jacq.

Crista-galli B. R.
Mimosa 1.

*prostrata B. R.
Darlingtonia Dec.
glandulosa Dec.
Acacia Neck.
*armata Br.
prostrata
stricta Willd.
*melanoxylon Br.

244 Plants adapted for a Conservative Wall,

farnesiana W.
pubéscens Br.
*Julibrissin Willd.
*dealbata Link
Ceratonia L.
* Siliqua L.

Rosacee Dec.

Amygdalus Tourn.
torientalis W.
Cérasus Juss.
*sinénsis G. Don
Parshea Dec.
*tridentata Dec.
Kérria Dec.
*japonica Dec.
flore-pléno Hort.
Rubus L.
roseefolius Smith
*coronarius B. MM,
refléxus Ker

A very fine creeper,
of easy cultivation ;
but very rare in col-
lections.

Potentilla Z.

*elabra Lodd.

Rosa Tourn.
+odorata Hort. vars.
tsemperflorens Lind.
+ Banksia R. Br.

Tlutea Lind.

With hundreds of
others at the taste and
pleasure of the pro-
prietors.

Lowea Lind.

*berberifolia Lind.

Cratze‘gus Lind.
*mexicanaMoc.etSesse
* Pyracantha Pers.

Photinia Lind.
*serrulata Lind.
*arbutifolia Lind.
*integrifolia Lind.

Raphidlepis Dec.
*indica Dec.
*salicifolia Lind.
*rubra Lind.

Eriobétrya Lind.
*japonica Lind.

Cotoneaster Med.
*rotundifolia Wall.
*microphylla Wall.

Cydonia Tourn.
*japonica Pers.
*flore-albo Hort. Lign.

Margyricarpus R.et Pav.

setosus R. et Pav.

Ancistrum K¢th.
argénteum FY. Per.

Poteérium L.
spindsum L.
caudatum A7é.

Calycanthacee Lind.

Calycanthus Lind.
*fléridus L.
*levigatus Willd.

Chimonanthus Lind.
*fragrans Lind.”

*orandiflora Lind.
*minor Hort.

These beautiful and
fragrant plants ought
to entwine their
branches with those
of the rose against
every cottage in Great
Britain.

Granatdcee D.Don.

Pinica Tourn.
*Granatum L.
*flore-pléno Lind.
*albéscens Dec.
*flore-pléno Dec.
*flavum Hort. Lig.
*nana L.

Onagracee Lindl.

Fiachsia L.
arboréscens Sims
And all the other
species and varieties in
cultivation. Amongst
these *F. discolor B.
R. (better known as
‘the Port Famine fuch-
sia) is particularly de-
serving of notice, as
being very hardy, and
one of the most beau-
tiful of the old sorts.

Lythracee Lindl.
Lythrum L.

alatum B. 1.
Heimia Dec.

*salicifolia Dec.

myrtifolia Otto.
‘Lawsonia Dec.

inérmis Willd.

‘Lagerstree\mia L.

indica L.
Philadelphacee Arb Brit.

Decumiria Z.
*barbara Ph.

Myrtaceeé Dec. Prod.
Calythrix Dec.
glabra B. R.
Tristania Br.
neriifolia R. Br.
Jaurina Dec.
Beaufortia R. Br.
decussata R. Br.
Melaletica R. Br.
paludosa Dec.
armillaris Dec.
thymifolia Sm.
pulchélla Br.
Eridésmia Br.
tetragona Br.
Eucalyptus Br.
longifolia Smith
*robusta Sm.
*speciosa Hort.
*pulverulénta B. MZ.
*cordata Lab.
*connata Dum.
tuberculata Br. ?
Many others of this
fine genus, containing
above 60species. The
above will stand the
average of winters
with very slight pro-
tection. ;

Angophora Cav.

lanceolata Cav.

Callistémon Dec,

salignus Dec.
scaber B. Cab.
lanceolatus Dec.
lophanthus Sw.

Metrosidéros Dec.

capitatus Dec.
corifolius Vent.
flexuosus Willd.
fléridus Dec.

Leptospérmum Dec.

*sericeum Lab.
lanigerum B. WM,
*scoparium Dec.
*squarrosum Gert.
junipérinum Vent.

Fabricia Dec.

*myrtifolia Dec.
*levigata Dec.
*sericea Dec.

Be’ckia Dec.

*virgata B. 1d.

This .and the two
preceding genera I
have known three
winters in succession
to stand without the

_ with Remarks on some of the Species.

least protection in the"
open ground.
Myrtus L.
~*communis L.
And all its varieties.
tomentosa B. M.
This is a beautiful
plant, but would re-
quire the warmest
place on a conserva-
tory wall, and extra
care.
Eugénia L, ?
myrtifolia B. R.

Cucurbitacee Dec. Prod.

Many of the more
curious sorts, if planted
annually, would give an
éclat to the scene, and
likewise continue the
natural chain.

Passifloracee Hort. Lig.

Passiflora L.

*ceerulea L.

*Colvillz Sw.
incarnata Lawr. Pass.
glabra Wendl,

Tacsonia Juss.
pinnatistipula Juss.

Loasaceze.

Blumenbachia Dec..
insignis Dec.
Although an annual,

if sown against a warm
wall, it will continue
togrow from self-sown
seeds for years.
Scyphanthus Sw.
élegans Sw.
Lodsa Dec.
Several varieties an-
nually.

Portuldcee Dec. Prod.

Pharnaceum L.
incanum L.

Paronychiacee.

Herniaria Fl. Brit.

*polygonoides Dec.
Polycarpz‘a Dec.
latifolia Dec.
Smithz Dec.
Mollia Spreng. Syst.

gnaphalodes Sp. Syst.

Crassulacee Dec.
Crassula Haw.
ramosa Haw.
tetragona Haw.
scabra Haw.
lycopodioides Dec..
oes
ericoides Haw.
perfoéssa Dec.
XN
perforata Dec.
marginalis Dec..
And several others.
Purgosea Haw.
lingueefolia Haw.

245

pertusa Haw.
And several others.
Globtlea Dec.
cultrata Dec.
lingua Dec.
mesembryanthoidesD
And several others.
Rochea Dec.
falcata Dec.
perfoliata Dec.
albiflora Dee.
Kalosanthes Haw.
coccinea Haw.
versicolor Haw.
cymosa Haw.
And several others.
Cotyledon
jasminiflora Dec.
hemisphe’rica Dec.
And several others.
Echeveria Dec.
ceespitosa Dec.
Sédum ZL. many sorts.
Sempervivum L.
tortuosum Dec.
villosum Haw.
eiliatum Haw.
arboreum Haw.
dodrantale Dec.
And others, except
tabuleférme, which
is very tender.

Mesembryacee,
Mesembryanthemum L.§

rr rr a ee

§ Of this splendid genus botanists enumerate nearly 350 species; but I
have never been able to collect together above 320 of them out of British
collections, nor do I think there exist more at present in Brita. As plants
of ornament they have been greatly overlooked by cultivators, especially con-
sidering how hardy they are: for out of the above number above 200 will
endure the climate of Britain with the thermometer at 24° Fahr., and many a
much greater degree of cold, especially the sheathing-stemmed kinds. In
planting the species against a conservative wall, such as that at Chatsworth,
there ought to be a ridge of rockwork raised against the wall, composed of old
bricks, clinkers, flints, shells, and any curious stones to be found in the neigh-
bourhood, the whole to be intermixed with a soil composed of peat earth,
white sand, common garden earth, and lime rubbish, and thoroughly drained,
as much of the success of keeping them alive during the winter will depend
upon this ; for, although there is no family of plants luxuriates more when
well supplied with water in summer, yet there is great danger with many of
them from injudicious watering in winter, more especially when. planted out.
The same remarks will hold good with the preceding order Crassulacez, and
the following one-Cactaceze: I would (were it possible in building such a wall)
have the spaces allotted for these genera interspersed with cavities formed of
rough blocks of laya, madrepores, millepores, and shells of various species,
such as Neptune’s chair, Strobus gigas, ammonites, &c., into which many of

R 4

246

Cactacee Hort. Lig.

Cereus Dec.
flagelliformis Dec.
Humboldt# Pftr.

And two or three
others belonging to
the Reptantia sect.

Opuntia Dec.
polyantha Pfr.
vulgaris Dec.
amycle‘a Dec.

And several others.

Nitraridcee Lindl.
Nitraria.
*tridentata Desf.

Grossuldcee Dec.
Ribes L.
*speciosum Pursh
*sanguineum Pursh
*aareum Pursh
I have added these,
although hardy, as re-
presentations of the
order, and as being
very beautiful.

Escalloniaceze Hort. Lig.

Escallonia Mutis
*rubra Pers.
*montevidénsis Dec.
*floribinda Kth.
*resinosa Pers.
*pulverulénta Pers.
*olandulosa Hort. Lig.
*illinita Hort. Lig.

Savifragacee.

Hydrangea L.
*quercifolia Willd.
*horténsis Sted.

Cunoniaceze Brown.

Cunonia L.
capensis L,

Callicoma Andr.
serratifolia Andr.

Batera Sal.
rubizefolia Sad.

Umbellacee Lindl. ?

Bupletrum Tourn.
*frutéscens L.
spinosum Sch.

Avralidce@ Jus. Gen. Pl.

Cussonia Willd.
thyrsiflora W.
spicata W.

‘These [have known
to resist 8° of frost
without injury.

Aralia Z.

*spinosa. L.

I have seen this
plant 14 ft. high, and
2 in. to 3 in. diameter,
against a wall, where
it had stood for seve-
val years.

Hédera Swartz
fragrans Don Prod.

I do not know if
this plant is yet in
Britain.

Caprifoliacee Juss.
Cornus L.
*florida L.
Benthamia fragifera Lin.
Vibtrnum L.
*odoratissmum B, R.
*rugosum B. R.
Two fine shrubs.
Lonicera Desf.
*confusa Loud.
*longiflora Dec.
*japonica Thunb.
These are very fine
fragrant plants, espe-
cially longiflora.

Rubidcee Juss.

Luculia Sw.
gratissima Sw.

One of the most
beautiful plants of the
Hort. Brit. when pro-
perly cultivated.

Plants adapted for a Conservative Wail,

Gardénia R. et. S.
florida Sh. Syst.
radicans Sh. Syst.

Although requiring
the moist heat of a
dung-bed to flower
them well, they will
nevertheless stand our
mildest winters un-
protected, especially
flérida.

Burchéllia B. R.
capénsis B, #&., will

stand 5°. ;

Pincknéya Michx.

*pubens Miche.

Manéttia R. et Sch.
glabra Cham.

This fine creeper
(although generally
kept in the stove) will
stand several degrees
of frost without suf-
fering. It has been
frozen here, this sea-
son, on a rafter in
the greenhouse where
the thermom. marked
28° Fahr., without in-
jury..

Bouvardia Kth.
Jacquin? Kth.
triphylla@ch.

These two plants
are often confounded
in gardens with one
another.

Natclea LZ. ?

Adina Smith

Mitchélla L.

*repens L.

Serissa Com.
foe’tida Com.

Rubia L.

*fruticosa H. K.
angustifolia Lam.
lucida Flor. Gree.

Galium L.
fruticosum Sch.

them might be planted with
ornamental character: and, I am sure,
that there are none in the whole circle
care of the cultivator, not only in sum
by the dizarrerie of their outlines an
has seen the splendid collections of
once famous collection at Cl]
aurse), will readily agree with

great success, thus adding to their grotesque and
from my knowledge of succulent plants,
of Flora which would better repay the
mer, but during the dark winter months,
d the beauty of their flowers. Whcever
these plants on the Continent, and the
ermoat (of which I was the parent and the
my opinions on the subject.

with Remarks on some of the Species.

Dipsdcee Juss.
Scabiosa L. |
attenuata L.
*africana Herm. Pac.
crética (?).
altissima Jacq.

Composite Adanson.
Hieracium L.
fruticosum H. K.
Prenanthes L.
pinnata Willd.
arborea Willd.
spinosa
Sonchus L.
fruticosus L.nonJacq.
radicatus $2).
pinnatus Sch.
Onoseris Dec.
mexicana Ath.
Mutisza L.
speciosa B. WM.
*ilicifolia Hort. -
This last will bear
8° of frost.
Syncarpha Dec.
gnaphalodes Dec.
Carthamus Willd.
arboréscens Willd.
salicifolius Willd.
Steehelina Willd.
arboréscens JVilld.
Centauréa L.
hyssopifolia Barrel.
argéentea Willd.
i’dera
prolifera B. MM.
Baccharis R. Br.
mollis Kth.
Conyza L.
candida L.
geminiflora L.
Gnaphalium L.
ericdides B, M.
carneum.
orientale Don
A’ster L.
tomentosus Willd.
*argophyllus B. MZ.
Chrysécoma L.
Comatrea L.
scabra Willd.
_ Donia B. R.
elutindsa B. FR.
Grindélia Willd.
pulchélla Schul.
angustifolia B. R.
Neja Don
gracilis D. Don

Agératum Willd.
celestinum B. 1.
Kleinta Willd.
suffruticosa W.
Cacalia L.
scandens Willd.
Senécio L.
venustus B. Reg.
dicifolius Willd.
hlacinus B. M. ?
Cineraria L.
aurita B. VM.
lactea Willd.
cruénta B. MM,
populifolia H. K.
*maritima L.
And many other
beautiful varieties.
Agathze‘'a Cas.
coeléstis Cas.
Othénna L.
flabellifolia B. C.
pectinita B. M.
frutéscens Willd.
Relhanza Willd.
squarrosa Willd.
pungens Willd.
Verbesina B. MM.
alata B. 1.
Buphthalmum LZ,
frutéscens Pursh
sericeum B. M.,
Wedélia Kth.
atrea D. Don
Gazania H. K.
*uniflora B. MV.
rigens B. B.
Sphendgyne H. K.
pilifera B. R.
Arctotis H. K.
tricolor B. R.
grandiflora Jacq.
*speciosa B. M.
arboréscens Willd.
glutinosa B. M.
Caléndula Willd.
denticulata Schult.
*fruticosa Walld.
arboréscens Jacq.
Podanthus Lagas.
gratus D. Don
Santolina L.
innata.
Athanasia Willd.
lanuginosa Cav.
pinnata Lam.
Artemisia L.
valentina Willd.
Péntzia Thun.

247

flabelliformis Willd.
Eriocéphalus Willd.

frutéscens H. K.
Hippia Desf.

frutescens Desf.
A’nthemis ZL.

triloba Willd.
Ferdinandia Lag.

augusta Lag.

integrifolia D. Don
Chrysanthemum L,.

#sinénse.
Many fine varieties.

Pyrethrum LZ.

frutéscens Willd.

Lobéliacese Juss.

Lobelia Flor. Brit.
linearis Schult.
gigantea B. M.

Isé6toma B. R.
axillaris B, R.

Stylidedcee,

Stylidium Brown
faricifolium B. R.
fruticdsum Br.

Goodeniacez.

Goodénia Br.
grandiflora Br.

Lechenailtia Br.
formosa B. M.
oblata B. M.

These plants are
very impatient of
damp, but will bear
6° frost.
Campanulacee Juss.

Campanula L.
aurea B. R., rare in

England.

*Prismatocarpus B.M.

Roélla B. M.
ciliata B. MZ.
pedunculata Sch.

Impatient of damp.
Ericacee Hort. Lig.

Erica L.-

*arborea L.

*australis LZ.
acuminata LD,
ventricosa B. M,
actz‘a Lk.

*umbellata H. K.

Many others will
bear from 8° to 12°
frost without injury ;
but, as I intend send-
ing you a paper on

248 Plants adapted for a Conservative Wall,

*puniceefolia Cav.
Physianthus
albens Hort.
Stapelia L.
*Gussoniana Haw.
This curious little
plant is quite hardy, if
placed in a crevice of
a wall.

Gentianacez.
Chironia L.
Jasminoides B. R.
lindides B. M.
frutéscens B. M.
trinérvis B. R. ?
Bignoniaceee Br.
Bignonia Tourn.
*capreolata B. MM.
Técoma Juss.
*orandiflora Swe.
australis Br.

mucronata Sch.

squamosa Sch.
Symplocacee Hort. Lig.
Symplocos L’ Her.

tinctoria W.

sinica Ker

Ebendcee Brown.
Diospyros L.
*chinénsis Blume\
Royéna W.

lucida Lam.

Oledcee Arb. Brit.

Ligistrum Tourn.
*spicatum Hamilt.
*lucidum Ait,
*japonicum Thunb.

OXlea L.

*europee‘a L.
*americana L.
This has stood here

Erica, I will not make
any further remarks.
Cyrilla L.
*racemiflora L.
Lyonia Nutt.
ferruginea Nutt.
rigida Nutt.
Andrémeda L.
*ovalifolia Don
buxifolia B. M.
Enkianthus B. M.
quinqueflorus B. R.
A’rbutus L.
+Andrachne L.
*canariénsis Lam.
ferruginea L.
Clethra L.
arborea H. K.
ferruginea R. et Pav.
#hododéndron L.
setosum D. Don

lapponicum Wahl.
arboreum Sm.
tceampanulatum Don
cinnamémeum Wall.
*indicum.
*phoeniceum Don
variegatum Blum.
*album.
sinénse Sw.

Epacridacee Hort. Lig.

Cosmeélia Br.
rubra Br.

E’pacris Br.
grandiflora B. MM.
impréssa Sw.

And all the other
species of this beau-

two winters without
the slightest protec-
tion, the thermometer
stood at 0° Fahr. this
winter (on the 8th of
January ).
fragrans Thunb.
Stood last winter.
capensis L.
excélsa H. K.
undulata Sch.
glandulifera Hort. P.
lancea Sch.
exasperata Hort. Par.

Notelz‘a Br.

longifolia Br.
Jasmindceeé Arb. Brit.

capénsis B. R.

Calampelis D. Don

*scabra Sw.
Cobeaceze D. Don.

Coboe‘a Cav..

scandens Cav.
stipularis Hort.

I have found C.
scandens. endure se-
vere frost ; and, when
killed down, to spring
up again from the
root, when protected
with a little short
litter.

Polemonidcee D, Don.
Hoitzia Juss.
coccinea Kth.
mexicana (?)
cerulea Kth.
The first species is
a splendid plant, of a
vivid scarlet colour,
and produces its flow-
ers very freely : this
is not the case with
mexicana, a robust
grower but shy flow-
erer: cerulea is ra=
ther delicate and shy.

tiful genus, they will

resist 10° frost with-

out injury.
Acrotriche Br.

cordata Br.

ovalifolia Br.
Leucopogon Br.

Riche Lab.

Junipérinus Lodd.
Styphelia Br.

tubiflora Smith

viridiflora Sw.

Jasminum Forsk.
*heterophyllum Rowd.
revolutum Ker

azoricum Vahl
pubigerum Don
volubile Jacq.

Apocynaceé Hort. Lig.
Gelsémium Juss.
sempervirens Pers.
Nerium L.
Oleander L.
Asclepiadaceze Arb. Brit.
Periploca L.

Peneacese Sw.
Pene‘a Schult.

§ Although the roots of this plant will resist the severest frost, yet the
branches will not bear our climate without protection, owing to the shortness
of our summers, and the want of autumnal! warmth to ripen the shoots; con-
sequently, like all such plants, it requires a dry subsoil and airy situation..

with Remarks on some of the Species.

Convolvulacee Br.
Convolvulus LZ.
Cneorum B. /,
floridus Jacq.
linearis Hort.
suffruticosus Desf.
canariénsis B. //.
*Qudmocht Brong.
bicolor Brong.§
Boragindcee Hort. Lig.
Lithospérmum ZL.
fruticosum LZ.
hispidulum Schud.
rosmarinifolium Hort.
E*chium
gigantéum ZL.
Tournefortea Schult.
*heliotropidides Hort.

Solandceeé Arb. Brit.

Petunia of sorts.
Nicotiana.
*olaica B, M.
Brugmansia Pers.
sanguinea FR. et P.
suaveolens.
Lycium L.
boerhaaviefolium L.
Véstia W..
*lycidides W.
A’tropa L.
frutescens Sch.
Solanum L.
laciniatum B. MM.
*crispum Sch,
bonariénse L.
Céstrum L.
*venenatum Sch.
*acuminatum Sw.
This last will en-
dure the generality of
winters.

Scrophulariacee Arb. B.
Baddlea L.
*olobosa L.

Halléria L.
lucida B. M,

Maurandya B. M.
semperflorens B.
Barclayana B. M.
antirrhiniflora B. PR.

Lophospérmum D. Don

scandens Don
czrulea Hort.
Digitalis L.
canariénsis B. R.
Diplacus (?)
*olutinosus (?)
puniceus B. R.
Mantlea Schult.
*viscosa Schult.
pedunculata Pers.
Calceolaria ZL.
*rugosa R. et P.
thyrsiflora B. M.
And nearly all the
shrubby kinds.
Veronica L.
*decussata H. et K.
perfoliata B. M.

Labidcee Arb. Brit.

Origanum ZL,
Tournefoért# FI.Gr.
Dictamnus B. MM.

Westringéa Schult.
rosmariniformisSmith.
longifolia Br.

Tetcrium L.

*friticans L.
régium Pluk.

*alpéstre FV. Gr.
montanum FV. Gr.

*Polium ZL.
lusitanicum Sch.
atreum Cav.
flavéscens Barrel.
heterophylla Cav.
Marum L.
flavum FV. Gr.
massiliénse FY. Fran.

Leonotis B. MM,

*Leontrus B. MM,
This fine plant de-
serves general cultiva-
tion. It is very nearly
hardy.

Phiomis L.

*fruticosa L.
crética Sch. Syst.

*italica Sch.
armeniaca Sch.
salvizefolia Pers.

Beringéria B. R.
Ps.-Dictamnus B. PR.

249

Sphacele B. R.
campanulata B. R.
Stachys L.
*spinosa DL.
stenophylla Sch.
coccinea B. M,
Sideritis ZL.
canariénsis Jacq.
*candicans Hort. Par.
britia TZenore
leucantha W,:
Layandula LZ.
*dentata L.
formosa Link
Dracocéphalum Z.
*canariénse L.
Salvia L.
aurea B. M.
*chamezedryoides B. MM,
falgens Sw.
*Graham: Benth.
odorata Jacq.
crassifolia Sch.
Prasium L.
majus L.
minus
Plectranthus LZ’ Her.
fruticosus L’ Her.
coloratus Dec.
Prostanthéra Br.
lasianthos B. R.
vioelacea B. R.

Selagindcee.
Selago Choisy
spicata Link
fruticodsa Chois.
Gilliés: Hort.
Verbenacee Br.
Vitex L.
* A’onus-castus W, |
*incisa B. MVM,
*arborea Hort. Paris.
Volkaméria
inérmis L.
Lantana
Sello: B. WZ.
Spielmannia B. M.
africana B. MM.
Aloysia Pers. Syn.
*citriodora Pers.
Verbéna L.
Aublétia B. M.

§ This is a splendid plant ; and, although too tender to stand during winter
without the protection of at least a warm greenhouse, it, neyertheless, would
amply repay the trouble of annual transplantation by the splendour of its lowers,
which it produces in profusion.

250

Melindres B. R.
niveana Hort.

And many other
splendid varieties, as
taste may dictate.
Myoporine Brown.

My6éporum Gr.
tuberculatum Br.

Stenochilus Br.
viscosus Grah.
Acanthagge Brown.

Thunbérgia alata B.

Planted annually, it
will ripen seed abun-
dantly.

Justicia Ahhatoda L.
Primulacee Brown.
Primula L.
*Paliniri Sw. F. G.
Anagallis L.
fruticosa B. M.
Monélli B. M.
Globulariacee Hort. Lig.
Globularia L.
longifolia L.
Plumbaginacee Hort. Lig
Statice L.
monopétala Rem.
suffruticosa L.

I am not aware that
either of these fine
plantsis yet in Britain.

mucronata L’ Her, Not
a herbaceous species,
properly speaking ;
when planted out, it
will attain the height
of several feet, and
will continue growing
throughout the year.

Plantaginee Juss.
Plantago L.

cynops Jacq.

afra Moris.
Chenopodiacee Arb.Brit.
Anabasis ZL.

aphylla Ram.
Salsola L.

brevifolia Hort. Par.

oppositifolia Hort. Par. -

prostrata Jacq.
Chenopodium L.

suffruticosum Ram.
A’triplex L.

glaicum IV.

coriaceum Rem.
Bosea L.

Yervamora L.
Salicérnia L.

arabica Moris.
Camphorésma L.

monspeliacum Weld.

Polygonacee Hort. Lig.

Brunnichia Gertn.
*cirrhosa Gert.§
Polygonum L.
adnatum Hort.
herniaridides Sch.
élegans Sch. non H.K.
tortuosum Dec.
frutéscens B. R.
Atraphaxis L.
*spinosa L.
*undulata L. (?)
Laurdcee.

Latrus Phin.
Catesbze’ Pers.
*carolinénsis Miche.
foe‘tens W., fine shrub.
*Myrrha Lour.

Plants adapted for a Conservative Wall,

indica L.,a fine shrub
for hot wall,
Camphora L.

I have seen a tree
of this somewhere,
against a wall,that had
stood for two or three
years, as marked on a
specimen in my her-
barium; but I have
neglected to note the
place, and at present
forget where.
Proteaceze Brown.

Grevillea.
punicea B. R.
*rosmarinifolia Svw¢.

This has stood out
herein the open border
unprotected, with the
thermometer at 0.

*junipérina B. C.

And many other
species. Ihave tried
about 12 species of
this genus out, and am
convinced from the
result that nearly all
the species will live
and flourish against a.
conservative wall.

Banksia Br.
spinulosa Andr.

? *littoralis Br.
compar L. 7.
oblongifolia Cav.
serrata And. Rep. ||

Thymelacee Arb. Brit.

Daphne L.
odora Thunb.

§ This rare climber was killed to the ground in 1838, but sprang up again

strong from the roots, in the Jardin des Plantes ; thus givinga kind of natural
evidence to prove how much we ought to guard against the direct rays of the
sun striking against the congealed trunks or stems of plants not truly hardy.
Had these roots not been surrounded by an opaque medium, thus preventing
the too sudden thawing, and consequent disruption of the vessels exposed
to the varying influence, their total destruction, I have no doubt, would have
been the result. Although, on the other hand, I am aware this will not al-
ways be the case, for there are a few plants whose roots seem to defy both sun
and frost to kill them, whilst their stems are comparatively tender. But I
think it will generally be allowed, and, in fact, the late severe winter has put it
almost beyond dispute, that the less we expose half-hardy plants to the influ-
ence of the sun, the more likely we are to succeed in inuring them to the
open air.

|| These will all stand against a wall if well protected, as will nearly all the

with Remarks on some of the Species.

“*hybrida Sw.

-*collina B. VM,
*sericea Vahl
*neapolitana Lodd.

The last 4 species,
although they will
endure the generality
of our winters with-
out protection, are
apt to suffer should
the thermometer fall
below 10° Fahr.

Gnidia L.

*imbérbis B. MM.
*simplex B. MV.

Thesetwo are often
confounded together
in gardens.

sericea Willd. Wants
more protection than
the two preceding.

Dais L.

cotinifolia B. M.

A. beautiful plant,
which deserves to be
in every collection.

Pimeléa Br.

decussata Sw.
ligastrina Lab.
hypericifolia Hort.

And perhaps all the
others, but Ihave not
had the opportunity
of trying ; the above
will bear 6° frost.

Eleagnacee Arb. Brit.

Eleignus Tourn.

_ *arborea Roxb.

spinosa L.

Aristolochidcee Arb. Brit.

Aristolochia L.
*sempervirens L.
*rotaunda Hort. Paris,

Euphorbiacese Juss.
Adélia

acuminata Hort.
Euphorbia

dendroides Willd

spinosa Wats. Dend.

fruticosa ZL.

imbricata Willd.

veneta L.

And several others
of this heterogeneous
family. Nature seems
to have mixed up in
this the forms of all
other genera ; and to
have embellished it at
the same time with
some of the most
conspicuous as_ well
as inconspicuous of
flowers.

Urticee Juss.
Urtica L.
arborea L’ Herit.
Céltis
orientalis Hort.
Betuldcee Hort. Lig.
Philipodéndron Hort. P.
régia Hort. Paris.
(syn. Bétula bélla)
Cupulifere Kunth.
Quércus L.
+xalapénsis Hort. Soc.

251

*lanuginosa Dec,
Casuardceeé Hort. Lig.
Casuarina Hort. Kew.
*stricta Hort. Kew.
Male and female.
This must not be con
founded witha species
from Gambia, which it
resembles very much,
and which is perhaps
the equisetifolia Hort.
non Willd.

Taxdcee Hort. Lig.

Podocarpus L’ Her.
*elongatus L’ Her.

Pinacee Hort. Lig.

Pinus L.
longifolia Roxb.
*canariénsis C. Smith
*insignis Doug.
Cunninghamia R. Br.
*sinénsis.
Thuja LD.
chilénsis Lamb.
Juniperus.
barbadénsis ZL. (ber-
mudiana Hort. Par. }

Smildcee Br.
Smilax ZL.
*excélsa Sch.
*hastata Sch.
Ophiopogon B. M.
spicatus B. R.
Asparagus L.
*scandens.
Xanthorrhee‘a Brown
meédia Br.

Hovea purptrea has stood the winter with the thermometer at zero, with
only a little fern thrown over it, in the open border, though the shoots are
killed back half-way. Grevillea rosmarinifolia has proved itself here a hardy
evergreen, at least as hardy as a common laurel.

Since writing the above list of Kennédya, I find K. inophylla (Zichya)
the hardiest of this division, next coccinea, then panndsa; tricolor, glabrata,

and another I am not certain of, are very tender.
hardiest, especially Hugelz.

The hardenbergias are the
Kennédya Stirlingz is rather tender, as are also

Marryatte and angustifolia; spléndens appears to be the hardiest of all.

species belonging to the genus, except perhaps it may be speciosa, which
appears to me the tenderest. Although I have only enumerated the above in
Protedcee, yet Iam convinced, from my knowledge of the order, that the
greater number of the species would thrive against such a wall as the Chats-
worth one. I see, from my herbarium, and notes taken of above 200 species
of this order, that [have marked nearly 100 of them as half-hardy, or such
as will stand, when well protected, against a wall.

252 ‘Theory of Lucas’s Experiments

Art. II. Theory of M. Edward Lucas’s Experiments on the Effect
of Charcoal on Vegetation. By Dr. A. Bucuner, Sen. (Trans-
' lated from the “Garten Zeitung” for the “ Gardener’s Magazine,”

by M. L.)

THE numerous experiments and observations mentioned in this treatise appear
to me to be very important contributions, not only to vegetable physiology
and dietetics, but also to the founding of a vegetable therapeutic system,
which, if I am not mistaken, has not hitherto been taken into consideration.
I take leave, therefore, to make a small addition in a theoretical point of view,
in order to introduce a clear scientific notion of the effects of charcoal on
vegetable life. These effects are founded, undoubtedly, on several causes, of
which the following appear to me the most important.

1. Absorption of Light, and Generation of Heat. It is well known that bodies
receive the light of the sun the more perfectly, the darker, duller, and looser
they are, and that the consequent developement of heat is in proportion to
this absorption of light ; hence, a black light soil is, under the same circum-
stances and relations, much more favourable to vegetation than a light-
coloured, grey, heavy earth. Heavy clayey soil, with a deficiency of humus, is
less suitable to vegetation, inasmuch as it soon loses its porosity through rain
and snow, and assumes a smooth surface, by which it is prevented from ab-
sorbing air and light and generating heat. Hence agriculturists justly name
these clayey soils, which are deficient in humus, cold soils. As charcoal dust
is one of the darkest, dullest, and most porous of bodies, it must, on account
of its peculiar capacity of receiving the sun’s light and changing it into heat,
be particularly favourable to vegetable life. M. Lucas, in his experiments
next summer, will, no doubt, not omit making comparative thermometrical ex-
periments. -

2. Absorption of Atmospherical Air. Among all porous bodies that have the
capacity of absorbing gases and vapours, charcoal has been proved by nu-
merous experiments to hold the first rank. If, therefore, clayey soil, deficient
in humus, is in general less suitable to the growth of plants than rich loose
garden mould, the reason lies, not only in the latter receiving more light and
creating warmth, but also in its more readily condensing, by its greater poro-
sity, the constituent parts of the atmospheric air, and consequently supplying
oxygen, nitrogen, and carbonic acid gas for the nourishment of the spongioles.
We come here to a very important point, the nourishment of plants, which I
cannot slightly pass over in elucidating the theory of the effects of charcoal in
this respect. Modern vegetable physiologists are, for the most part, of opinion,
that plants can receive no solid nourishment from the earth ; that is, that
every thing that they can assimilate (or digest) must be in a liquid and gaseous
or vapoury state. If we, therefore, meet with siliceous earth, chalk, magnesia,
oxide of iron, in short, such substances in plants as could only be received
from the soil, we may always consider it certain that these sorts of matter can
only be absorbed by the roots in proportion as they are in a fluid or dissolved
state in the soil. These sorts of matter, and particularly the different organic
salts which we find in the ashes of vegetables, are not actually to be con-
sidered sources of nourishment, but stimulants to assist in digesting, as salt
and spice are to the higher animals and man; we also not unfrequently
observe that a superfluity or mixture of certain inorganic substances in the
soil, prejudicial to certain families and species of plants, is the cause of disease
when this inorganised matter is in a dissolved state and capable of being ab-
sorbed by them.

If we analyse the nourishment of plants, we shall find it is only the con-
stituent parts of air, water, and charcoal. The experiments of Boussingault
on the origin of nitrogen in organic bodies show, Ist, that no plant exists
without a proportion of nitrogen; and 2d, that, while men and animals receive
the portion of nitrogen of their bodies not from the air by breathing, but from’
food by assimilation, plants on the contrary draw their supply of nitrogen, not

on the Effect of Charcoal on Vegetation. 253

from manure or humus, but from the air. We come now to a very important
point in the nourishment of plants, to which M. Payen has particularly called
our attention in two treatises read before the Academy of Sciences at Paris,
on the 8th and 14th of October, 1839: viz. that charcoal operates as a con-
denser, under the influence of water, on the constituent parts of the air, in the
same manner as spongy platina on the elements of detonating gas; so that
nitrogen and oxygen are dissolved, and, mixing with water, are absorbed by the
spongioles, and carried to the cambium for assimilation. This property of
condensing the air, and making it fit to be received by plants, does not ex-
clusively belong to charcoal, for it is also more or less perceptible in other
sorts of earth, chiefly in porous and pulverised bodies. We know that water,
even when not distributed through charcoal or earth, absorbs some air, which
becomes a watery fluid, and by heating is again expelled in the form of gas ;
but charcoal powder appears to possess this power in the highest degree; con-
sequently, besides light and heat, is capable of carrying to the roots both air
and water, i. e., nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxgyen, in the greatest abundance.

3. Decomposition of the Charcoal, and Formation of a nourishing Substance for
Plants. It is well known that manure, as such, does not nourish plants, and
that, on the contrary, when it touches the roots it causes disease. We know
that it is the constituent parts of the humus, i.e. the matter produced by
decay, which nourish plants. This apparently takes place because the
humus, with the cooperation of air and water, is continually forming oxide of
charcoal, or carbonate and nitrogen, which, together with the saline particles,
is absorbed and assimilated by the roots. For a long time it was generally
believed that charcoal, as an inanimate body incapable of decay, contributed in
no degree to the nourishment of plants, and that charcoal dust could only
serve at most to make the earth looser and warmer. But M. Lucas found,
from his experiments, that the charcoal in which plants grow by degrees un-
dergoes decomposition, and at last becomes a sort of humus. This obviously
takes place merely because the charcoal dust acts as humus, and, with the
cooperation of water and air, continually gives out to the plants oxide of
charcoal, or carbonate, together with the saline particles which are in the
charcoal and remain in the ashes after burning. But, to prove this, some
chemical experiments were necessary.

4, Comparative Chemical Examination of Charcoal Dust. The more perfectly
to establish the theory of the effect of charcoal on vegetation, M. Lucas gave
me for examination ; —

Ist. Ashes of fir charcoal in which no plants had grown.

2d. Ashes of fir charcoal in which plants had grown for half a year.*

3d. A portion of charcoal dust which had been used for another purpose

for two years.}

With these materials I made the following comparative experiments: — __

Two drachms of them were reduced to fine powder, and digested in three
ounces of distilled water for 24 hours. All the three quantities, filtered off
from the charcoal, were uncoloured, and left the test paper unchanged. After
the evaporation of the water, there remained only a very trifling yellowish
residuum, of a saltish taste, which acted somewhat like an alkali, and, besides
potash, contained also chlorine. No difference could be distinguished in this
case between a, 6, and c.

The portions of charcoal powder to which water had been applied were
each separately digested in a sand-bath, with three ounces of water, to which
a drachm of corrosive lie of potash was added. The liquid filtered from a
was almost colourless, and was not the least muddy when saturated with
muriatic acid. The liquid from 4 was brownish, and with muriatic acid yielded

* This charcoal was used for most of the experiments.

+ It was used to filla bed, hence its impurity is easily accounted for. —
Lucas.

254 Theory of Lucas’s Experiments.

a flocky dark brown precipitate of humic acid, which, being carefully collected
and dried, weighed 0°27 grains. The liquid from e was of a darker colour,
and, with muriatic acid, yielded 0°45 grains of humic acid.

Two drachms of each of the three portions of charcoal were reduced to
ashes in the platina crucible. The ashes of a weighed 22 grains, and lost, by
shaking with distilled water, one grain in weight. The ashes of 6 yielded only
9 grains of ashes, of which only half a grain was dissolved by the water. The
ashes of c, on the contrary, weighed 33 grains ; apparently because the char-
coal powder, while in use for two years, had become fouled with garden mould ;
of these 33 grains of ashes, two grains were dissolved im water. The consti-
tuent parts of the three portions of ashes retained their qualities; so that in
the dissolvable parts were found potash, chalk, carbonic acid, sulphuric acid,
muriatic acid, and phosphate. The portion indissoluble in water contained
chalk, magnesia, traces of oxide of iron, carbonate, sulphuric acid, phosphate
and silicic acid.

If the objection be made, with respect to these three portions of charcoal,
that they are not all from the same tree, and might therefore yield a different
weight of ashes, we may, with probability, suppose that this natural difference
is very inconsiderable, as the charcoal was all of fir wood from the neighbour-
hood of Munich, where limestone débris is the general understratum of the
woods.

The result is quite decisive and undisputed, that diluted lie of potash
scarcely ever dissolves any thing from fresh fir charcoal, and that, on the con-
trary, charcoal in which plants have grown, being partly changed into humus
and this being drawn out by diluted lie of potash, amounted in the charcoal
6, after six months’ use, to 2°25, and in the charcoal c, after being two years
in use, to 3°75 of 1000. By this it is also proved, that charcoal, under the
influence of light, air, water, and vegetation, is gradually decomposed, by
losing carbon ; in the place of which hydrogen and oxygen predominate, and
~ concur with the remains of carbonate to form humic acid.

No less interesting is the further comparison of the ashes of, I may say, the
virgin charcoal @ and the charcoal 6, which had been used half a year for
vegetation ; in this instance a and 6 were in the proportion of 122 to 75 of
ashes from 1000 of charcoal. Undoubtedly the dissoluble salts were, in pro-
portion to the increasing decomposition of the charcoal, absorbed by the
roots. That the greater weight of the ashes of c is not decisive has been
already mentioned. To make very correct experiments of this sort, charcoal
from the same tree should be burnt, equally reduced to powder, and, in plant-
_ ing in this powder, all impurities of garden mould, &c., carefully avoided, and

watering the plants with rain-water attended to.

5. Antiseptic Power of Charcoal. In judging of the effects of charcoal on
vegetation, its antiseptic properties are of great importance, for it has very
little power of retaining water, and the little it retains is partly absorbed by
the roots and partly evaporated. This property deserves the greatest atten-
tion of gardeners, in respect to recovering the health of plants the roots
of which have become injured by being in a clayey soil, and too freely watered,
or after continued rain, or being in contact with manure not sufficiently de-
composed. They should be immediately transplanted into charcoal powder,
as the most effectual method of cure.

6. Literature. Yn all scientific examinations, if they have any pretension
to be well-founded, the greatest assistance may be procured from historical
and literary researches. In this instance, however, it is very remarkable that
all research in books which were at command was only a loss of time and
trouble. In Dietrich’s Perfect Lexicon of Gardening and Botany, with the
Supplements, I looked in vain for the article “* Charcoal,” or “ Charcoal
Dust.” I did not find more in Piever’s Encyclopedian Dictionary or in
Brockhaus’s Conversations Lexicon. Leopold’s Economical Dictionary contains
only the following short passage: “ Charcoal dust makes the earth light, and,
when when mixed with sand, is very useful in a clayey soil.”

ae Red Spider and White and Brown Scale. 255

In Kriinitz’s Encyclopedia, voi. 43., the article Charcoal is very comprehen-
sive with respect to its preparation and technical application; but, with regard
to agriculture and gardening, it is only mentioned (p. 225.) that “ charcoal
ashes serve to improve soils, and earth becomes very light by it.” M. Lucas
says he has looked for it in Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Gardening, and found
no further information there than in Kriinitz.

From this I think I may conclude that all that has hitherto been known
for the improvement of the soil by charcoal dust was only founded on casual
observations, and that experiments made with a view to science on this very
commonplace article, in the manner in which M. Lucas has pursued them
with so much success, have not been hitherto made.

Munich, Feb. 29. 1840.

Art. III. Qn the Destruction of the Red Spider in Plant Structures.
By Ropert ERRINGTON.

A FEW facts are, I conceive, in the present state of horticulture, worth a
volume of speculations ; I therefore beg to forward you some statements of
what has taken place here, which, although of an isolated character, will, I
hope, be of some use. It is well known that the red spider is one of the
greatest pests of the gardener; it is also well known that sulphur is destruc-
tive of that insect ; yet, in spite of all this, it is more frequently found in
gardens than it ought to be, considering that an antidote is at hand which is
both economical in cost and use, and certain in its effects.

Few are disposed to use sulphur to the extent at which it may be used
with impunity, through fear of its pernicious effects on vegetation if pushed to
an extreme ; which fear, however well founded in fact, is carried to an un-
necessary extreme, as I am about to show. I have been in the habit of using
sulphur for this purpose for some years, and, although I have houses in which
most things are grown or forced which are peculiarly liable to that pest, yet
it seldom (I might almost say never) makes its appearance.

As houses vary so much in their internal area, and as much depends on
apportioning the quantity of sulphur to that area, I will assume a case which
will be, 1 hope, a sufficient guide. For a house 30 ft. long, 16 ft. wide, 10 ft.
high at back, and 6 ft. high at front, 1 have been in the habit of using at least
40z. It is heated by hot water, and the pipes are of 6-inch bore. One man
with a watering-pot and syringe goes before the person who applies the sulphur,
and who is provided with a dusting-brush and the sulphur ina bowl. The
one syringes the pipes and the other applies the sulphur, until the pipes are
fairly painted from one end to the other, except the part at which the fire
enters for a few feet. A dull day is chosen for the purpose, and at the time
of application I keep a rather brisk fire. If the house becomes insufferable
to my own lungs I allow a little of the surplus fumes to escape at the back by
ventilation, especially should the sun peep out suddenly; however, this is
seldom necessary if the day be well selected.

’ By these means, repeated about three or four times in a year, I am, as I
stated before, kept entirely free of this destructive pest.

Oulton Park Gardens, April 4. 1841.

Art. 1V. On destroying the White and Brown Scale by the Applica-
tion of hot Water. By Henry C. Octe.

Tue difficulty of destroying the white and brown scale, on plants of any de-

scription, is well known to cultivators. They may be partially destroyed on

those plants having large leaves, by rubbing off and other means ; but this

would be an endless, and [I may say a fruitless, task with plants having small
1841.— V. 3d Ser. s

256 Flued Walls at Erskine House.

leaves. On my first entering my present situation, I found several plants
nearly covered with white scale, and 1 had determined upon throwing them
away ; but, thinking I might as well try some experiments with them, either to
kill or cure, I had recourse to hot water, being aware it was destructive to
insects, and, until I had tried it, I doubted not, to evergreen plants also; but,
in this I was wrong, as the sequel will show. I took for my experiment: two
plants of Coronilla glatca each 6 ft. high, one of Coronilla glatca yariegata
3 ft. high, one Nérium Oleander 6 ft. high, and one Corrze‘a pulchélla 2 ft. high.
I heated a copper of water to 180°, I laid these plants down by the side of it,
and well washed each of them with water from the copper by means of the
syringe ; I turned them about several times that no part might escape the
washing: the Corree‘a being the smallest plant, I plunged the head of it into
the hot water and kept it there for the space of three or four seconds. I fully
expected this would have killed both plants and insects ; but in this I was
also mistaken, for the plants are now alive, the leaves are slightly dis-
coloured, but the wood is not at all injured. The insects, I believe, are all
dead, many washed off with the hot water, and many more with cold water ;
and, as the plants grow, I have no doubt the whole of them will fall off, as I
am persuaded that the water killed all those it touched. It will be useful to
know the degree of heat water may be applied at to evergreen plants, as it will
not only destroy the scale, but all other insects. It is frequently applied to
wall trees, and with good effect, but I am not aware that it had been tried on
evergreen plants. I am trying the effects of it on plants with more tender
leaves, and in due time will send you the result.

In the mean time I hope some of your correspondents and readers will
prosecute the enquiry, and ascertain what degree of heat different evergreen
plants will bear with impunity.

Rosehill Gardens, Sussex, Jan. 21. 1841.

Art. V. Further Information respecting the Flued Walls at Erskine
House. By G. Suietxs, Gardener there.

‘AGREEABLY to your request, I now send you some further information respect-
ing our flued walls, by the aid of which we have been enabled to obtain
abundant crops of ripe fruit at an early season. But I shall confine my ob-
servations at present chiefly to the construction of the wall, and our mode of
protecting the trees and fruit.

The flues are not plastered within. I have tried it with lime mixed with
cow-dung, but I do not approve of it ; lime being a non-conductor It suits,
however, for the under flues of walls on the old principle, to prevent them
from overheating, and to do away the use of hot air, which I never found to
answer. On the north side of the wall are four places or holes for cleaning
each flue, 9 in. wide, and 1 ft. deep; one of which is placed within 3 ft.
of each end, and the other two divide the intermediate space equally. Four
bricks, as stretchers, are put into each of these holes flush with the face of the
wall, laid without mortar, only pointed on the outside, to admit of being easily
taken out when cleaning is required. The bricks which cover the flues are 13 or
14 inches long, and reach to the face of the wall, forming a course of headers.
The wall is 21 in. thick ; the stone coping is of the saddle-back form, being
6 in. thick in the middle with raised joints, 4 in. thick at the edges which
project 4 in. before the face of the wall and the same behind, having a groove
or throating underneath, to prevent the wet communicating with the wall.
We use no wooden coping, although a temporary coping of wood is certainly
of use to protect the trees in the spring when in bloom. We protect with
nets for the vines and cherries. Upon the flued walls a single woollen net or
double herring-net is used ; the upper side fixed on nails fastened in the joints
of the coping near the edge. The under side is fastened to temporary stakes
about 3 ft. in length, placed about 3 ft. from the wall.

Three new Garden Tools. 257

We put the net over the cherry trees when the blossom begins to expand
(which is generally about the beginning of March), or a little before the ex-
pansion of the blossom if the weather is frosty. About the latter end of
April the woollen net and stakes are taken away, and a single herring-net put
close over the tree to protect the ripe fruit from the birds. Fire heat is put
to the wall about the middle of February, and continued until the middle of
May, or a little later some seasons ; for, although we gather ripe fruit in the
latter end of April or beginning of May, it is generally the latter end of June
before the whole crop is off* It is generally about the latter end of June
before May Duke cherries upon an unflued south wall ripen here.

With regard to the vine wall here, heat is applied, and the net put on, about
the latter end of April, or when the buds have broken; when the fruit is
thoroughly set, which is generally about the latter end of June, the net and
stakes are removed. When the fruit begins to colour, a single net is put up,
to protect it from birds ; in autumn, a double net is again put up, to protect
the fruit from heavy showers of rain and hail. Hamburg and Muscadine
grapes upon this wall begin to ripen in September, but fire heat is continued
till the whole crop is gathered and the wood ripened. We use coal dross
in all our furnaces, Flues in cherry walls require eleaning every four or five
years ; those on vine walls once in three years. The dampers are 18 in.
wide. Our furnaces are built similar to those recommended by the late Mr.
Walter Nicol.

Should the foregoing statement not be deemed sufficiently explicit, I shall
be most happy to endeavour to supply any further information you may require.

Erskine House Gardens, March 25. 1841.

ArT. VI. Notice of Three new Garden Tools. By H.

As you approved of the tool I described in the Gardener’s Gazette for the
3d of April, p. 212., I think a notice and figures of a few others which I
have been in the habit of using may not prove unacceptable to the readers of
the Gardener’s Magazine.

A Drill Rake.—Fig. 40. is an implement
I use for drawing drills for seeds, and which
I have called a drill rake. I had the teeth
cut from a common hay rake, and three
pieces of beech, each piece 2 in. wide
and half an inch thick, screwed on to the
head of the rake, so as to have each piece <<)
3 in. deep in the clear, and to be
placed at 1 ft. apart; or for drills at
9 in. apart I have four pieces. This fig. 40. Drill Rake.
I find a most useful and labour-saving tool,
and I hope it will come into general use ; as also

A Sickle Hoe (fig. 42.), which I had made for loosening the ground about
autumn-sown and planted crops. As will be seen by the figure, it is made in
the shape of a sickle, or reaping-hook, of iron rod three eighths of an inch in
diameter, and about 10 in. long in the turn, the part which enters the
ground to be brought to an edge like that of a narrow chisel. I deem it one
of the most essential points in the culture of culinary vegetables to keep the
ground about them constantly stirred to the depth of a few inches, much
depending on the crops and time of year. In the spring and summer, the

* That a cherry tree should produce a succession of ripe fruit for so
lengthened a period. may seem strange; it is nevertheless true. We gather
ripe fruit from the young bearing shoots laid close to the wall long before the
blossom expands on spurs not so closely attached.

s 2

258 Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices,

admission of the sun and air is well known to Fig. 41. Drill Hoe.

be of immense importance to vegetation, and ee
this can only be done by loosening the ground ;

it will also allow the rains to penetrate quickly
to the roots, as well as the absorption and
retention of atmospheric moisture by capillary

attraction, which is of more essential service
in dry hot seasons than any waterings that fig. 42. Sickle Hoe.
can be given.

A double Dutch Hoe.—Fig. 43. is a double Dutch hoe, which I find very
useful for hoeing between drilled crops when young.

A Drill Hoe. — Fig. 41. is a drill hoe,
very useful for drawing drills for potatoes,
peas, beans, &c.; the common hoe, turned
sideways, is generally used for this purpose,
but this will be found a far preferable im-
plement.

The figures will give the necessary ex-
planation of these implements, and of the
proportions of their parts relatively to those
of common hoes and rakes. JI must, how-
ever, observe that the blade of the last-
named tool must be put on at a less acute
angle than the common draw hoes gene- Fig.43. Double Dutch Hoe.
rally are.

Sussex, April, 1841.

Art. VII. Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices of
the Kinds of Planis newly introduced into British Gardens and
Plantations, or which have been originated in them; together with
additional Information respecting Plants (whether old or new) already
in Cultivation: the whole intended to serve as.a perpetual Supplement
to the ‘* Encyclopedia of Plants,” the ‘‘ Hortus Britannicus,” the
“ Hortus Lignosus,’ and the “ Arboretum et Fruticetum Britan-
nicum.

Edwards’s Botanical Register ; 1 monthly numbers, new series, each
containing six plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by
Dr. Lindley, Professor of Botany in the University College,
London.

Maund’s Botanic Garden, or Magazine of Hardy Flower Plants cul-
tivated in Great Britain; in monthly numbers, each containing
four coloured figures in one page ; large paper, 1s. 6d.; small, Is.
Edited by B. Maund, Esq., EES.

The Botanist ; in monthly numbers, each containing four plates, with
two pages of letterpress; 8vo; large paper, 2s. 6d.; small paper,
ls. 6d. Conducted by B. Maund, Esq., F.L.S., assisted by the
Rev. J. 8. Henslow, M.A., F.L.S., &c., Professor of Botany in the
University of Cambridge. :

supplementary to Enc. of Plants, Hort, Brit., and Arb. Brit. 259

Pazton’s Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants;
in monthly numbers; large 8vo; 2s. 6d. each.

The Ladies’ Magazine of Gardening ; in monthly numbers ; 8vo,
with coloured plates; 1s. 6d. each. Edited by Mrs. Loudon.

Ranunculdcee.
1600. ACONI‘FUM 14210 japénicum Bot. Gard. 783.
Malvacee.
2014. HIBI’SCUS
Telfafrie Maund Mrs. Telfair’s “ t_] pr 2 jl Ro Mauritius 1825. C sl.p Bot. 212.

A dwarf plant, with small rose-coloured flowers, raised at Bury Hill in 1825,
from seeds sent from the Mauritius by Mr. Telfair, and named in honour of
that gentleman’s wife. (Botanist, March.)

Camelliéee.

[p. 53.
2038, CAME’LLIA 18166 japonica var. Albérté? Prince Albert’s Camellia Paxt. Mag. of Bot. vol. viii.

A very handsome striped carnation-looking camellia, imported by Messrs.
Chandler from China. (Past. Mag. of Bot., April.)

Balsaminee.
698. IMPA‘TIENS "

candida Lindl. white Ql] or 6 au W Himalayas 1839. S r.m_ Bot. reg. 1841, 20.
“A noble species,” with “large, white, showy flowers, a little speckled
with crimson... . The leaves. are narrow-lanceolate, tapered to a fine point,
arranged in whorls of three, and edged with very fine crimson teeth. Be-
tween each pair of leaves there stands a row of crimson glands, apparently in
the place of stipules.” (Bot. Reg., April.)
Legumin0ose.

1249. CALLY’STACHYS [mag. of bot. vol. viii. p. 31.
longifolia Paxé. long-leaved 2% \_] or 5 jn Y.Br.W Swan River 1839. C l.p.s_ Paxt.

This species has leaves 7 in. long, and a tall straggling stem. The flowers
have a yellow standard, brownish red wings, and a whitish keel tinged with
pink. (Paxt. Mag. of Bot., March.)

2090. DAUBENTO‘NIA [of gard. 3.

Tripettd@na Poir. M., Tripet’s % u_} or 3 au S.O Buenos Ayres 1840. C. co. Lad. mag.

A very handsome half-hardy shrub, with scarlet and orange pea flowers,
which it continues producing from August to November. (Ladies’ Mag. of
Gard., March.)

2123. HEDY’/SARUM 19135 sibiricum Bot. Gard. No. 781.

This species is often confounded with the H. alpinum of Linnzus, from
which it is quite distinct. (Bot. Gard., April.)
Composite.
2273. STE'VIA
trachelidides Dec. Trachelium-like yf pr 3 au P Mexico 1838. D co. Bot. mag. 3856.

A pretty perennial, growing freely in the open border. (Bot. Mag.,
March.)

2323. HELICHRY'SUM
niveum Grak. snowy ¥ A or 4 ju W.Y Swan River 1838. D co, Bot. mag. 3857.
A perennial species of Helichrysum, with large white flowers having a
yellow centre. It grows freely in the open border, and flowers abundantly.
(Bot. Mag., March.)

2233. TRIPTI’ LION. 20216 spindsum Bot. Reg. 1841, 22. ‘

This plant, though introduced so long since as in 1827, is very difficult to
flower ; Mr. Frost of Dropmore has, however, succeeded in effecting this.
He says that the plant has a fleshy root like that of the dahlia, and that when
it has done flowering it should be removed to a small pot during winter, to be
repotted in a larger one, in sandy loam with a small quantity of rotten leaves,
in spring. (Bot. Reg., April.).

; s 3

260 Botanical, Floricultiral, and Arboricultural Notices,

ps)

2348, PODO’LEPIS 3
aristata Benth. bearded ©O J] pr s Y Swan River

A very pretty Swan River annual, with bright yellow flowers, raised by
Mr. Hopgood of the Bayswater Nursery, from Swan River seeds imported by
Captain Mangles. (Ladies’ Mag. of Gard., April.)

tylidee.
Stylidee ae

1840. S co. Lad. mag. of gard. 4.

2581. STYLI’/DIUM y
Drummond Grah. Mr. Drummond’s yg _A] pr 2 nmr Pk Swan River 1838. D co. Bot.

A valuable species, from its remaining in flower all the winter, from No-
vember till March. The flowers are very large, and of a dingy pink. (Botanist,
April.)

Ericacee.
1173. ERICA 9782 Tétralix 4 Mackaiana Bot. Gard. 780.
Bignoniaceze.
CO‘LEA Bojer. (Named in honour of Gen. Sir G. Lowry Cole, governor of the Mauritius.)
. [reg. 1841, 19.

floribinda Bojer] abundant-flowering % [4 or 8 au Y.W Madagascar 1839. C co. Bot.

A very handsome stove shrub, which flowered for the first time in Europe
in August last, at Syon. The flowers are of a bright ochre-colour edged with
white, and they are produced in whorls round the stem on the old wood.
(Bot. Reg., April.)
Convolvulacee.

491. IPOM(:A
ficifolia Lind]. fig-leaved 3% AJ or 3 n P Buenos Ayres 1840. C co. Bot. reg. 1841, 13.

A tuberous-rooted species, with a half-shrubby stem and showy flowers ;
which it produces in such abundance, that in the Western Nursery, Bristol,
there are 500 flowers on a plant twelve months old, on a trellis 2 ft. high.
(Bot. Reg., March.)

435. CYNOGLO’SSUM
glochidiatum Benth. burred ©)

A weedy-looking plant, with rather pretty blue flowers, and a bristly nut,
whence the specific name. (Bot. Reg., March.)

432. ANCHU‘SA
petiolata Hook. petiolated _AJ

A pretty half-hardy perennial from Nepal, which flowers abundantly. (Bot.
Mag., March.)
Scrophularinee.

1718. CHELO‘NE 1546 barbata. :
Synonymes : Penstémon barbatus Lind/., C. barbata var. mexicana Bot. Gard. 777.' E :

A tall-growing variety, with red flowers ; introduced in 1838 from Mexico.
(Bot. Gard., March.) ;

Boraginee.
pr 2 jn B India 1840. S co. Bot. reg. 1841, 15.

pr 1 0 P Nepal 1840. D co. Bot. mag. 3858.

Labiate.

1693. SCUTELLA‘RIA
or + o P.W_ Japan ?1838. C coe Bot. gard. 778.

japonica Maund Japan Y

A dwarf species, with purple and white flowers, which flowered in Pope’s
Nursery, Birmingham, and is very suitable for rockwork. (Bot. Gard.,
March.)

76. SA’/LVIA
régla Cav. Regla % _| or & jn S Mexico 1839. CC. co.

A vigorous-growing half-hardy species, with scarlet flowers, only a few of
which open at one time. (Bot. Reg., March.)

3451. GARDOQUI. 4
betonicdides Benth. Betony-like Y A pr 3 o Pk Mexico 1837. D co. Bot. mag. 3860.

A showy perennial; very inferior, however, in beauty to the scarlet thyme,
G. Hookerw. The present species has pinkish flowers with blue anthers.
(Bot. Mag., March.)

Bot. reg. 1841, 14.

Plumbaginacee.
eg. 1841, 21.

928. ARME‘RIA ns
Sch. fascicled gb A pr 3 au PK South ofEurope 1838. co. Bot.

fasciculata Hom. e¢

supplementary to Enc. of Plants, Hort. Brit., and Arb. Brit. 261

This. species “ forms a pretty bush, looking like a young pine tree, and pro-
duces its head of pink flowers in August. During summer it grows very well
in the open air ; but in winter it must be treated like a Cape plant.” (Bot.
Reg., April.)

Orchidacee.

*SOBRA‘LIA Ruiz et Pav. (In honour of Don F. M. Sobral, a Spanish botanist.)
séssilis Lind. sessile -€@([AXJ or 1 ad Pk Peru 1840. D _ p.zr.w_ Bot. reg. 1841, 17.

A very handsome plant, belonging to a genus the species of which, in Peru,
“resemble reeds, loaded with large red or white, and often fragrant, flowers,
which always grow from the extremity of the reed, from among the large
plaited grassy leaves.” (Bot. Reg., March.)

2526. BRA/’SSTA [184], 18.
Lawrenciéna Lindl. Mrs. Lawrence’s ¢ [A] or 1 ja Y.B Brazil 1839. D p.x.w _ Bot. reg.

A handsome species, very properly dedicated to so warm a patroness of flo-
riculture as Mrs. Lawrence. (Bot. Reg., March.)
3536. CYCNO‘CHES 29787 Loddigész var. leucochilus Bot. Mag. t. 3855.
A white-lipped variety of this beautiful species. (Bot. Mag., March.)

3523. CHY‘SIS ee
bractéscens Lindl. bracteated €& AX] or 1 ap W.Y Mexico 1840. D p.r.w Bot. reg. 1841,

A very handsome species, being the third of this rare genus, which “is
readily distinguished by its large white flowers, and great inflated leafy bracts.”
(Bot. Reg., April.)

ODONTOGLO‘SSUM [vol. viii. p. 49.
grande Bate. grand €& [AJ or 1 d Y.B Guatemala 1839. D p.r.w Paxt. mag. of Bot.

A truly magnificent plant, which has only flowered at the Duke of Devon-
shire’s and at Knypersley. (Paxt. Mag. of Bot., April.)
Iridacee.
1913. HERBE’RTZ4 16768 pulchella var. cerutlea.
A slight variety, the principal difference being in the colour, which is rather
more blue. (Bot. Mag., April.)
Amaryllidaceze.

SPREKE’LIA ;
glaica Lindl. glaucous % AJ or 1 my S. Mexico 1840 O s.p.l Bot. reg. 1841, 16.

This species only differs from the common jacobezea lily, in its flowers being
somewhat paler and smaller, and its leaves glaucous (Bot. Reg., March.)

BOMA‘REA W. H.
simplex W. H. simple ¢ A pr 3 jn Pk Cusco 1838. C r.m_ Bot. mag. 3863.

“ Seeds of three varieties of this plant were brought by Mr. Pentland from
different situations near Cusco, which have all flowered in the open ground at
Spofforth, in front of the greenhouse.” The genus was formed by Mr. Herbert
out of that of Alstreeméria. (Bot. Mag., April.)

3333. COBU’RGIA
coccinea scarlet % tJ or 1 mr S_ Cordillera 1839. O r.m_ Bot. mag. 3865.

The flowers are much smaller than in the common species ; but it seems
more hardy, as it stood out “‘all the summer and autumn of 1839, the season
being unusually wet. and cold, and appeared to dislike sunshine and fine
weather.” (Bot. Mag., April.)

3867.
trichroma WW. Herb. three-coloured #% \_| or f jn S.G.W Andes 1837. O rm Boreas

This species differs from the preceding one in having larger flowers, and
their being distinctly striped with white and green. (Bot. Mag., April.)
CALLITHAUMA W. Herb.

TE ATEIIBUG WED Sasownay &-) eu 1 Ga G ‘Peru: 4837, O! rm) Bot-magns800,

The plate exhibits two species of this rare genus, which Mr. Herbert thinks
will prove a section of Cobtrgia. (Bot. Mag., April.)

s 4

262 Culture of the Cucumber

Art. VIII. On the Shanking of Grapes. By A. Saut.

Auruoucu the shanking of grapes is a subject which has often
been discussed, there is,'in my opinion, one cause, and probably
in many cases the only one, which has not been hit upon. ‘The
keeping up of too much moisture in the house in proportion to
the heat is, in my opinion, more often the cause of the shanking
and shriveling of grapes than any other. Without at all ques-
tioning the rationality of the opinions of other writers, except
in so far as to say that the cause imputed by J. B. W., in
conjunction with my own, is, I believe, the right one, I may
state that I have had sufficient proof that my own opinion is
correct. .

In 1838 I had two houses of grapes very nearly ripe at the
same time; one was a fruiting-house for pines, the other a
succession-house. The difference in the temperature of the two
houses was about 10°. The degree of moisture, by sprinkling
the paths, flues, &c., had been kept nearly the same in both.
_ In consequence of the grapes in the succession house being con-
siderably shanked, while scarcely a single berry in the fruiting-
house had suffered, I was led to infer that the moisture had
been too much in proportion to the heat. Acting in accordance
with that opinion, I, in the following summer, kept the succes-
sion-house nearly dry, keeping it in that state till the grapes
were ripe. ‘The consequence was, as I had anticipated, nearly
the extirpation of the disease. I have since acted upon the
same principle, with the same results; and am now fully con-
vinced that the real and only causes of the shanking and
shriveling of grapes are too much moisture in the house, and
deep and badly drained borders. The one, by keeping the
roots in a cold unheaithy state, prevents, in some measure, the
proper supply of pure sap to the plant; while the other, by
acting upon the plant as a cold damp atmosphere acts upon the
human body, prevents in like manner the free circulation of the
life blood of the plant.

Castle Hill Gardens, April 8. 1841.

ArT. IX. On the Culture of the Cucumber in Pits heated by hot
Water. By W. H.

I senp you for insertion in the Gardener's Magazine my mode
of growing cucumbers and melons by hot water; a plan which
I have practised for ten years with a success equal to growing
them with dung, and with a deal less trouble. From my ten
years’ experience, I can confidently recommend it as an excellent
way of growing them where dung is scarce and fuel plentiful.

I have a double row: of pits, 38 ft. long, and 73 fts wide,

in Pits heated by hot Water. 263

heated by one boiler upon the siphon principle, with cisterns at
the farther end, and lids on them to put water in when necessary.
In the one row the pipes go and return along the front, and a
flue along the back. In the other row, which is the one appro-
priated for winter and early forcing, a flue goes along the back,
covered with paneled squares, and painted: the top pipe goes
along the front, and the bottom pipe returns in a channel in the
bottom of a tank in the bottom of the pit. The smoke is
turned along these back flues, when required, by dampers in
the fireplace, and when not wanted there is a third flue on the
outside of the pits for it to go along; and all these flues are
continued across a walk at the end of the pits into a chimney at ©
the end of a Calcutta pit. When I first began, I had a chimney
over the boiler to turn the smoke up when I did not want it to
run along either of the pits; but this covered the lights so with
blacks that I was obliged to have it taken down, al a flue run
along the outside, as ‘before stated. Stop-cocks are placed in
the pipes, so that either row may be worked separately, or both
together. The tank in the early-forcing row extends the whole
length, and nearly the whole breadth, of the pit; and is supplied
with water by a small pipe from a main, with a cock to regulate
the supply. At the opposite end there is a large pipe, with an
elbow joint, which communicates with the tank, and shows the
quantity of water that is in it. Below the large pipe there is a
small one with a cock, which empties into a drain, to draw off
the water from the tank when repairs are necessary. ‘The tank
is made with bricks and mortar, and cemented; the channel in
the bottom for the return-pipe is 1 ft. wide and Gin. deep: on
each side of this channel there is a brick flat, pigeon-holed and
covered with flag-stones, to protect the pipe. ‘The pit is divided
into four compartments, of two lights each: in each of these
divisions there are two cross-drains communicating with the
return-pipe, and covered with oak planks. ‘These oak planks
have circular holes cut at each end, and upon these circular
upright pipes are placed, 6 in. wide at bottom and 3 in. wide at
top. By these steam is admitted into the divisions, and air is
circulated: when not wanted, they are covered with pieces of
slate. The pit is filled with leaves nearly up to the glass, to
allow for sinking; and, when they have sunk sufficiently low, the
hillocks of soil are put in, and the plants are planted as soon as
the soil is warm. As long as the leaves contain sufficient
moisture, the water in the tank is confined to the channel for
the hot-water pipe; but when the leaves begin to get dry, the
water is turned in, so as to fill the tank, and then allowed to
evaporate into its usual channel. By this simple process I can
always keep a proper moisture in the pits, highly conducive to
the growth of cucumbers and melons. When I first began

264 Growing Strawberries for Forcing.

growing cucumbers and melons by hot water, I formed a
chamber over the tank, by placing spars across the tank and
covering them with turves: upon these I put about | ft. of
prepared dung, and then the soil in the usual way. I grew very
good cucumbers in this way ; but the beds were only of short
duration, owing to the dung and soil becoming dry, and the
difficulty of keeping them moist.

As the season advances, and the sun becomes powerful, the
pieces of slate are put on the steam-pipes during the day, and
taken off at night; but when the melons are in flower, and
ripening their fruit, they are kept on day and night. When the
melons are done with, I use the pits for striking crowns and
suckers, and find them to answer admirably.

Mawley Hall, Bewdley, March 22. 1841.

Art. X. On growing Strawberries for Forcing. By a GARDENER
OUT OF PLACE.

As the system I have pursued successfully for several years in
growing strawberries for forcing differs, in some respects, from
that of Mr. Fish (p. 39.), I send a note of the details. As soon
as the runners are fit for the purpose, I lay a quantity, say two
or three in a 32 pot, others one in a 60, in a good strong loam,
with a portion of well-decayed manure. I place a stone on each
runner, for the double purpose of keeping the plant in position,
and preserving moisture to the roots. The first runners I
prefer: the sort Keen’s seedling. As soon as the plants are
well rooted, I repot the sixties into thirty-twos, and the thirty-
twos into twenty-fours, still using the same strong soil; I then
place them in the hottest part of the garden, fully exposed to
the direct rays of the sun, but not under a wall. ‘The situation
I prefer is the centre of the vine border, first placing a quantity
of half-decayed manure, generally some old dung lining, to put
round the pots, to prevent the sun acting too powerfully on the
roots. Here they are left exposed to the elements most con-
ducive to bring them rapidly to a state of maturity; a free cir-
culation of air, abundance of moisture, which I take care they
are liberally supplied with, and a full share of solar heat. In
this situation the plants grow freely, forming well-matured
crowns, to send up fine stems of bloom in the forcing-house,
with strong and vigorous roots to support them. Those in
twenty-fours remain; after a time I examine the others, and
those that have the strongest roots I repot into twenty-fours,
pursuing the same method as before; so that, out of 700 or
800 pots, I have half the number in twenty-fours, with one, two,
or three plants in a pot, and the remainder in thirty-twos, with

Growing Strawberries for Forcing. 265

one plant in a pot. I prefer one plant to either-sized pot in pre-
ference to a greater number ; and, if the above method is pursued,
it will, from the rapidity of their growth, be found quite suf-
ficient. If the autumnal rains are heavy, I lay them on their |
sides; and, about the middle of December, place them in some
frames to keep the frost from injuring the roots, till they are
placed in the forcing-house. I shall say nothing of their ap-
pearance in the house, but leave it to the imagination. After
forcing them, I turn them out of the pots, and “plunge them in
rows, at moderate distances, in a piece of spare ground in the
garden, well exposed to the sun and a free circulation of air.
(From these you will have a slight gathering after the natural
crops are over.) In the autumn I take them up with good
balls of earth, and plant them in rows in a melon pit of about
30 lights, which I fill full, placing them rather thick, to econo-
mise the rows, and press the mould firmly to their roots. The
pit has neither bottom-heat nor pipes, but is simply covered with
mats. As soon as ‘the frosts set in I place the lights on, but
do not begin to cover up with mats before March. If warm
showers come in April I take the lights off, and let the plants
have the benefit (which is better than watering from a pot), to
forward them. When the sun is shining hot in the afternoon I
shut up close, and cover up directly with double mats. You
will find the next morning a sensible difference in their ap-
pearance. These plants will bear abundantly, coming in at a
very seasonable time, just before the out-door strawberries,
which are very often retarded by late frosts; when, the days being
generally very hot, strawberries are in great demand, and, it
being too hot for them in the houses, they are sometimes very
scarce. After the fruit is gathered, the plants are dug up and
thrown away, and the pit planted with melons.

By following this simple routine, year after year, you will be
able to supply a family, however large, with abundant crops:
of this beautiful fruit, in the highest state of perfection, and at a
very trifling expense.

Now I am on the subject of strawberries, do you know if it is
any where recorded why the strawberry leaf was first chosen to
garnish the coronets of the three superior orders of our nobility,
in preference to the leaf of the oak,

“a prince’s refuge once,
The eternal guard of England’s throne,”

which would appear to be a much better emblem? Shakspeare
has written, “ the strawberry grows underneath the nettle,” but
he has not stated why the plant is honoured so far as to be
elevated above the brow of a duke.

Camberwell, Feb. 1. 1841.

266 Culture of the Hautbois,

Art. XI. On the Hautbois Strawberry. By Wm. ANDERSON,
F.L.S., Curator of the Chelsea Botanic Garden.

Havine seen three papers in the Gardener's Magazine describing

the hautbois strawberry, none of which is correct, I beg you to

state what little I have seen of that plant and its fruit.

I have seen the hautbois strawberry in its native state in the
bottom of old chalk pits, in the copse woods about one mile
beyond Tring, on the high ground on the left hand. This
ground is a strong chalky yellow clay. The fallen leaves, and
other decayed vegetable matter, rest on and manure these pits,
and I was told that the plants produced good large berries, but
were gathered by birds and children before they were ripe.

To cultivate this fruit, care must be taken to select the herma-_
phrodite plants while they are in flower, there being three sexes
in the seed-bed, i. e., male, female, and hermaphrodite. When a
few of the last are selected, they will give runners abundantly ;
and when these runners are planted on a strong rich clayey soil
they will produce great crops. This sexual character was first
pointed out to the late Sir Joseph Banks about the year 1817,
and he had great crops from these selected plants ; he also sup-
plied his neighbour, Mr. Wilmot, with plants, who had about
two acres in cultivation of them in 1820; the clusters of fruit
were so large that he had them all tied up to small twigs. From
his success I had flattered myself that this most desirable fruit
would have been abundant in Covent Garden Market, but we
never see it for sale. I have also seen Mr. Oldacre produce
great crops of these berries forced; those that have once tried
them for this purpose will prefer them both for size and flavour.
I must, however, remind your readers that it is in vain to grow
this strawberry in the usual way of the other varieties; but the
nearer we come to that chalky clay, or strong loamy ground
highly manured, such as Mr. Wilmot’s is, the greater will be our
SUCCESS.

I have been rather tedious, but my wish is to see the hautbois
the leading strawberry in forcing and in cultivation; as it is the
best flavoured, and the best bearer where the ground will suit it.
I keep the hermaphrodite plants in the garden, but we never see
fruit although they flower very freely; the ground burns up in
the first dry weather in April and May, and prevents them
coming to perfection.

Apothecaries’ Garden, Chelsea, March, 1841.

Art. XII. On the Culture of the Conical-fruited Scarlet Alpine
Strawberry. By W. Gorpon, Gardener to the English Embassy,
Paris.

I sENpD you ashort sketch of our mode of cultivating this fine

strawberry, called by us the Four Seasons, from its producing its

and Conical-fruited Scarlet Alpine Strawberry. 267

fine rich-flavoured ripe fruit from the end of April to the middle
of November, and sometimes later, according to the mildness
of the season, in the open ground. ‘This four seasons, or coni-

cal-fruited scarlet alpine strawberry, is one of the very best sorts
for general cultivation. The size of the fruit is from half to
three quarters of an inch long; the flesh firm, of a fine shape,
and delicious flavour, even to the end of the season. ‘The plant
is continually in flower, and produces ripe fruit till it is checked
-by the hard frosts and cold nights of autumn. ‘To give its bo-
tanical characters in this paper may be of little or no importance
to the cultivator, I shall therefore merely state what country
or place it originally came from, as near as possible. According
to some accounts, it is a native of Switzerland and Germany,
and was first cultivated in England in 1768; or, at least, some
strawberries bearing the same name were then introduced and
cultivated. But it is no easy matter to say precisely where this
fine sort came from. I consider it to be only obtained from
seed, for a short time ago it did not exist, or, if so, it was in a
small quantity; but it is in general cultivation at present, and
is greatly improving in size. There is also another sort of the
four seasons alpine strawberry, the fruit of which is of a com-
pressed oval shape, not so large as the former sort, but of a
good flavour, and very productive. The only difference is in
the shape of the fruit. I have gota new white alpine strawberry,
which came from seed, nearly of the same shape as the former,
of good flavour, but not so productive. ‘The colour of its fruit
may be some inducement to its cultivation.

During the last two winters these sorts of strawberries seem
to have suffered the most in the neighbourhood of Paris. This
last winter of 1839, or spring of 1840, in particular, they suffered
greatly, as most of the young plants were killed, as well as some
of the weak old stools, which has left the young plants rather
poor. ‘The pine strawberry and Keen’s seedling did not suffer
so much as the alpine sorts have done, which may appear re-
markable.

The mode of cultivating this strawberry is as follows : —

When we are desirous of having large fruit, we make a new
plantation of the young strong runners taken off the three-years-
old stools, which are the best. ‘These we plant in beds 6 ft.
wide, and four rows in the bed, leaving an alley on each side of
the bed. ‘The plants are placed two together, and at the dis-
tance in the rows of from 15in. to 18 in. apart. The more
room they have the better, if the ground is poor; but they may
be set closer, if it is rich. ‘They must still, however, be planted
wide in the rows. In planting, great care is required not to set
them too deep, as I find they do best when only about one third
of their roots is put in the ground, a small space being left

(268 Contcal-fruited Scarlet Alpine Strawberry,

between the ground and bases of the leaves; they will soon
make fresh young roots. After planting, nothing is to be done
but to lay a little short dung on the surface of the bed, and give
a little water. ‘They must not be allowed to make any runners ;
or, if they do, they must be all taken off, which causes them to
form good strong plants and stools. Spring or autumn is the
best time to make plantations. One of these plantations will be
good for four or five years; after which time the soil begins to
get exhausted by over-bearing; so that you will require to renew
them by making fresh beds every other year, if not yearly.

Those plantations made either in the spring or autumn will
produce good ripe fruit in the September and October of the
same year. ‘Three or four years old is the best time to allow
them to make runners to get stock from to make plantations. If
once they are allowed to produce runners, they soon run out and
become small-fruited. By their not being allowed to make run
ners, the plants are stocking themselves by making young offsets,
which are continually flowering and fruiting the whole season.

Some gardeners prefer sowing the seed of this strawberry,
which they consider the best mode of cultivating it; as it is said
to last longer, bear finer fruit, and not to run out so soon. The
beds, it is said, will stand good for six years. By sowing the
seed of this strawberry, one advantage may be obtained, namely,
that of raising new sorts or varieties; but nothing more: for, if
the seed is sown in the spring, it will require at least a year and
a half before you obtain any fruit, and this is not certain even
then before the following year. For my part, I find no advan-
tage in sowing whatever, except in obtaining new sorts. Care
in planting this strawberry is the chief thing, and afterwards
not over-watering it.

The soil which suits these strawberries is a light sandy soil,
neither too rich nor too poor; one with a quantity of old lime
rubbish in it, and where the water will pass quickly off, seems
to suit them best. In the hot dry weather they require to have
a good supply of water to keep them fruiting, otherwise they
will not fruit so large or fine. Care must be had not to let the
soil get too moist. If they make too many leaves, let them have
no water, or even take off the covering of rotten dung; for the
soil is too rich for them, and they are growing too strong to fruit
well. ‘Take off all the old leaves, and expose them to the sun
as much as you can. When once they commence fruiting, you
will have plenty. Be careful not to plant them where there is
any shade whatever, but in a place that is fully exposed to the
sun, and where there is a free circulation of air, otherwise they
will not fruit well or in any quantity.

This is also one of the best strawberries for forcing, by taking
the two- or.three-years-old stools, and putting them into small-

Forcing Sea-hale. 269

sized pots in the spring of the same year or autumn, or, as you
may want them, as they come into flower; all of which I have
done, and found them to answer my purpose well.

In France it does not do to pot the young runners to force as
in England: they do not grow strong enough to force in the
following year; they must be at least two years old.

The seed of this strawberry should be saved in September
and October, when it is best, and it ought to be sown in Fe-
bruary or March, as the mildness of the season will admit.

Paris, August, 1840.

Justicia Adhatoda has stood out in Paris, and was only killed
at 143° Reaumur, or about 7° below the freezing point of Fah-
repheit, in 1837 and 1838. It makes a fine shrub, and flowers
well; I am not certain if it seeds\—W. G. [See p. 250.] :

Art. XII. On Forcing Sea-kale. By Rozert Errineton.

TueE following is a mode of forcing that useful vegetable sea-kale,
which, in my opinion, merits general adoption. I am aware that
it is not altogether novel, yet it is, in my opinion, not sufficiently.
known; and, in recommendation of it, I can only add that by it
I have had a continual supply, without a single day’s intermis-
sion, since the middle of last November, and that of the very
best quality.

I force it in the mushroom-house ; and, to obtain a supply of
roots, I plant four rows in the cpen ground every spring. My
rows are 60 ft. long, 3 ft. apart, and 15 in. between the plants in
the row. It of course receives proper cultivation in this stage,
the plants having been raised from seed the year previcus in-a
single drill, ‘The roots are taken up for forcing as soon as the
leaves are decaying, and with much care; and as much as possi-
ble taken up entire, as the root is of course a magazine of
nourishment for the incipient bud. The main stock is then “laid
by the heels,” and covered with litter until wanted. In my
mushrocm-house I have a pit or trench sunk below the level of
the floor line about 4 ft.: this furnishes room in the length of
the house for about four successive ages; and I introduce the
second lot of roots the moment the first begins to bud, and so
on with the rest. I place fermenting matter, viz. dung and
leaves mixed, about 2 ft. 6 in. deep, under the roots, taking care
to have bottom-heat enough ; as, if that becomes too hot, [ can
easily reduce the heat with water; and the more water the sea=
kale receives in this way, the more tender it becomes. I place
the roots in this fermenting matter as thick as they will stand,
merely flooding in some fine old tan or old rich soil with water,
to fill the crevices between the roots completely. «The surface

270 Daubeny’s Lectures on Agriculture.

of the crowns, when so placed, is a foot, or nearly so, below the
floor line; and, when planted, I lay a row of trusses of straw
side by side over the whole, to shut in the steam, and keep it
completely dark, which is one of the main points; and, with the
straw and the shutters, this is completely effected.

In the same house I produce a continual supply of chiccory,
rhubarb, and lily of the valley, in pots, by the same system ;
besides various other things which, in emergencies, find a refuge
there. — Oulton Park Gardens, April 4. 1841.

REVIEWS.

Art. I. Three Lectures on Agriculture; delivered at Oxford on
July 22. and Now. 25. 1840, and on Jan. 26. 1841; in which the
Chemical Operation of Manures is particularly considered, and the
Scientific Principles explained upon which their Efficacy appears
to depend. By Charles Daubeny, M.D., F.R.S., M.R.S.A., &c.,
Sibthorpian Professor of Rural Economy in the University of Ox-
ford. 8vo, pp. 106. Oxford, 1841.

Ir rarely happens that an individual can be found so admirably adapted for
being appointed a scientific Professor of Agriculture as Dr. Daubeny ; known
as he is to be a profound chemist, and the actual Professor of Botany in the
same university in which he holds the Agricultural Chair. The publication
of these Lectures so shortly after the appearance of Liebig’s work is inter-
esting, as affording an opportunity of observing in what two eminent chemists,
who have devoted their energies to the same department of their science,
agree and differ ; and it is satisfactory to find a general harmony between
them. “ In these lectures,’ Dr. Daubeny observes, “ although I freely own
myself indebted for the fundamental doctrines that have been laid down, as
well as for many of the details that have been dwelt upon, to the work of
Professor Liebig, yet it is fair, both to him and to myself, to state that I have

interwoven much matter that is either my own, or drawn from other sources

than those of his work ; that I have often attempted to deduce from his prin-

ciples consequences for which he is nowise answerable ; and that I have

endeavoured to remove any impediments that may exist amongst agriculturists

to the reception of the novel views propounded in his Report, by giving to —
my exposition of them as much as possible of an English character, both as

to style and arrangement, and by disencumbering it of all such references to

recondite chemical truths as did not seem essential to the establishment of

the leading propositions.” (Pref. p. vii.)

This extract will enable our readers to form some idea of the work, and to
those who have paid some attention to chemistry, and have sfudied Liebig,
and Mr. Lymburn’s article on the subject (p. 97.), Dr. Daubeny’s Lectures will
be found pregnant with interest and instruction. We hope, however, to be
favoured with some remarks on the subject of the Lectures by Mr. Lymburn,
who is at once a scientific chemist and a cultivator of extensive experience
and observation.

Art. Il. The Eastern Arboretum, or Rural Register of all the
remarkable Trees, Seats, Gardens, &¢., in the County of Norfolk.
By James Grigor. Illustrated by drawings of trees, etched on
copper. Nos. VIII. to XI. 8vo. London and Norwich. 1s. each.

Our last notiee of this work was in p.29.; the last residence we mentioned

. Grigor’s Eastern Arboretum. 278

was Scottow Park, and the last of our trees the weeping willow ; we shall
now enumerate the seats and trees noticed up the to end of No. x1.
Houghton Park ; the Seat of the Marquess of Cholmondely. —“ Every thing,
except the trees, seems to have suffered by the long lapse of years: on their
heads it has put fresh honours; and if in some instances they are sinking
into dilapitude, their decay is unattended by any of that regret which we ex-
perience in beholding the untimely abandonment of the buildings.”
Hunstanton Park ; H. Le Strange Styleman Le Strange, Esq. — “ Parts of
the house are of great age, having a staircase, each step of which is formed
of a single solid block of oak. The carved-work round the doors, and the

- paneling of the drawingroom, with its rich cornice, are truly beautiful. The

‘

tops of the hills, with their precipitous edges, are well clothed with young
and thriving plantations. The evergreen oak (Quercus Ilex) and the cedar
of Lebanon, which are in profusion here, have grown with great rapidity, and
create a deep massive effect. Here are also many goodly oaks, which fling
their branches around, and raise their lofty heads in defiance of the sea
breezes.”

Sprowston Park ; Rev. W. J. Carver. —“ Around the hall there are several
lofty poplars (Populus fastigiata) with trunks measuring each 10 ft. in cir-
cumference; a cluster pine (Pinus Pinaster) 9 ft. Sin. ; together with some
fine specimens of the elm and beech. At the north-west front of the building,
in the park, is an oak called ‘ The King of Sprowston,’ a wide-extending
regular tree, having a stem of 15 ft. in circumference, the branches over-
spreading a space of 29 yards in diameter. In the same direction, and close
by the road to Rackheath, is an extraordinary lime tree (T%ha europea),
which has attracted the attention of many a spectator.”

Rackheath Park ; Sir Edward Stracey, Bart.—“ This demesne forms a fair
and plentiful show, not yet grand, but abounding in all the elements which in
after years will make it so. The impress of beauty is upon it now, in the
usual outlines of youthfulness : we have no dark forest-sides here ; no avenues
with their cathedral-like vistas ; few trees which tempests have vexed, and
fewer moulded into the picturesque forms of extreme age. All these have to
follow.”

Wroxham House Park ; Rev. John Humfrey.—‘“ Seldom have we witnessed
a place of the same extent, and it is far from being large, abounding in so
much fine timber. The oaks around the house are of goodly dimensions,
bearing that bold contorted outline which is at once so beautiful and so cha-
racteristic of the species. The Scotch pines here are also well worthy of
notice, and the beeches and horsechestnuts far from contemptible.”

Hoveton House Park ; Rev. Thomas C. Blofeld. — “The Portugal laurels in
front of the house, although not so tall as some that we have seen, are of
great circumference. There is also a choice selection of hawthorns, which,
with the holly, have found a soil to rejoice in. The walnut (Juglans regia)
has arrived at a considerable size; and we noticed a copper beech assuming
all the character of the common one. Otherwise, it is more the general ap-
pearance of the place, than any trees of particular beauty, which here attracts
attention.”

Spixworth Park ; John Longe, Esq. —“ A splendid conservatory is appended
to the south end of the house: we may venture to say, there are few, if any,
which can compete with it in the county. It is beautifully arranged, and
replete with exotics and other plants of many of the rarer tribes. The orna-
mental grounds are kept with that neatness and ‘ lucidus ordo’ so indispen-
sable to produce effect. They are of very considerable extent, and in perfect
harmony with the-date of the mansion. Here is a smooth greensward, with
noble beech trees feathered down to the ground. The elegant vases, half-
hidden with creepers, scattered over the parterres, give peculiar effect to that
class of plants, and bestow throughout a dressy and finished appearance.”

Wroxham Hall ; Sigismund Trafford, Esq. —“ The great use of trees is to
1841.— V. 3d Ser. Zi 2

272 Grigor’s Eastern Arboretum.

wait upon the mansion, lending their aid to it in all their varied character,
whether placed singly, in lines, groups, or thickets ; as objects merely orna-
mental, or valuable on account of their shelter. Otherwise, what are they ?
A chaos of beautiful materials, indeed, but serving only to create the more
insufferable discord.”

Beeston Park ; Sir Jacob H. Preston, Bart. —“ The entrance to the park
from the Norwich road is particularly handsome : after passing a sufficiency
of plantation to betoken the approach of some place of note, the grounds
open with a most magnificent avenue of oaks, exhibiting a sweep of a full
quarter of a mile, continuing uninterruptedly almost to the very verge of the
mansion.”

Worstead House ; Hon. W. R. Rous. —“ The present proprietor has, with
good taste, effected an entrance to his house at the opposite extremity to that
which was previously in use, thereby making the original ‘entrance hall a tri-
bune, and giving an entire suite of apartments the repose and seclusion of a
dress-ground, sweeping down to the water’s edge.”

Honing Hall; E. G. Cubitt, Esq.—“ Great facilities are afforded fora
pleasure-ground and dress-garden; for, in the immediate vicinity of the house,
the trees, both beech and oak, are very fine: we measured several 12 ft. in
circumference, with 30 ft. of clear shaft; but this department has been little
attended to, and, with the exceptions of a Portugal laurel, one of the finest
we have ever witnessed, and a handsome tulip tree, there is little worthy of
record.”

Witton Park ; Lord Wodehouse. —“ The grand approach, through nearly a
mile of fine young thriving wood, gives the place a very imposing character ;
and proves that with care and attention most species of wood may be reared,
even though exposed to continual sea breezes : we, in a great measure, impute
this to the large body in which they have been planted.”

Bayfield Hall; G. N. Best, Esq. —“ The ornamental grounds are in good
taste, and, with the ruin of Bayfield church peering through ivy and sylvan
drapery, makes a happy picture. The lawn breaks and undulates on all sides
in very pleasing variety.”

Gunthorpe Hall; Rev. J. H. Sparke. —“ Some hundreds of acres are here
thickly strewed with thorns and holly of most magnificent growth, and ever
and anon an old and gnarled oak contrasts and enlivens the scenery. The
gardens are somewhat after the old fashion, and the greenhouse, which is of
iron framework of a continuous curve throughout, is the lightest, prettiest,
and most convenient we ever beheld. There-is a handsome piece of water,
fringed chiefly by ash and alder, affording to the grounds a most pleasing
termination.”

Letton Park ; T. T’. Gurdon, Esq. — “ Here, as in many places in Norfolk,
nothing strikes us more forcibly than the want of that diversity of surface so
necessary to every demesne. Besides creating an impression, a varied and
broken outline gives at once scope to the imagination : a small group of trees,
happily placed on a knoll, or on the turn of a sloping hill, often deludes one
with the idea, that the brokenness of the ground conceals more even than the
eye beholds; but on a level space, a handsome expanse of wood scarcely pro-
duces any effect, and many a broad acre of greensward is thereby rendered
comparatively of little account. From its being built on so flat a surface, few
houses verify this observation more than the one in question ; for, although
replete with every possible convenience, and containing a most ample suite of
apartments, its appearance does no justice to its interior arrangements.”

Plumstead Hall; Rev. Charles Penrice. —‘“‘ The house stands in the midst
of a spacious lawn, surrounded by well-pruned and thriving plantations. Under
all circumstances, it would be unreasonable, perhaps, to expect a happier com-
bination ; and, without infinite perseverance, nothing so good would have been
the result. There is one feature, however, which we cannot commend. The
approach from Norwich, to say nothing of the garden wall and gooseberry
bushes, makes sad havoc with the dress-grounds : it precludes their being

Grigor’s Eastern Arboretum. 273

private—their first, best charm—and interblends two styles of opposite cha-
racter.”

Shotesham Park ; Robert Fellowes, Esq. — “ It is a well-understood phrase
in writing, that a book or character is not well sustained; and the case is
quite analogous, and the rule equally applicable, in reference to a landscape :
all things should be in keeping and consonance. Once create an ill impression,
and it may prove beyond your power to remove it ; for many a splendid seat
has sunk below its just appreciation by unworthy objects presenting themselves
on the first appearance.”

Brooke Hall; Rev. John Holmes. —“ The groups of trees, transplanted
after the suggestions of Sir H. Steuart, are most judiciously arranged. They
screen and partially hide what would otherwise have presented a full and
staring front of the entire residence, at the same time occupying a bald and
otherwise bleak outline. These trees have been removed with great care, and
prove that, under proper management, they are available to create an appear-
ance full twenty years in advance of those planted in the usual way.”

Brooke House; G. S. Kett, Esq.—‘‘ The ‘varied dependencies’ of this
residence are interesting in many ways : to the mere observer of general na-
ture ; to the more minute botanical student, who would enquire as to the ‘ new-
comers’ in the hardy ligneous department of his great family ; to the florist ;
the grape-grower ; the landscape-gardener, who has to operate on flat sur-
faces; and, finally, to all who delight in beholding a pleasure-garden kept in
the most perfect taste, whether we look at its walks, hedges, borders, verges ;
the enamel of the greensward, or the disposition and character of the objects
which rise thereon. In the youthful department here, by far the most inter-
esting section to us is the collection of Conifere. Cedrus Deodara, raised
here from seed in 1830, and planted in its present situation in 1834, is now
9 ft. high, in a most vigorous state of growth.”

Seething Hall; Mys. Kett. —“ An ancient-looking secluded place; deserving
of notice chiefly on account of its trees and its unique collection of water-
fowl, foreign and indigenous.”

Kirby Cane Hall; Right Hon. Lord Berners. —‘“ The grounds are much
road-bound ; and the entrance-gates, one of which is close to the mansion,
are of that thin wiry iron which always creates a prim and unpark-like effect,
and which at best is only suited to a parsonage or suburban villa.”

Ditchingham House ; J. L. Bedingfeld, Esq. —“ On the opposite side of
the lake rises a fine extent of woodland scenery, which, by a most skilful ar-
rangement, is kept low in front; thereby affording a full view of the stems of
the trees behind, giving the appearance of greater depth, and adding much to
the apparent height of the acclivity. This effect is further improved by an
open glade with greensward in the midst of it, and a dense mass of Scotch
pines as a further contrast.”

Earsham Park ; Sir W. Windham Daiting, Bart. —‘“ Perhaps the most re-
markable objects that presented themselves to our inspection were some old
thorns that were fast falling into the ‘ sere and yellow leaf, and exhibiting
every symptom of extreme old age. We question if the old trees of this
species which are at Kimberley approach them either in size or beauty. We
rode under one, a perfect canopy, with a globular head spreading around like
a mushroom, the mistletoe, at all times green and bright, creeping through
its branches. Its trunk is a series of stems massed and matted together,
measuring, at 5 ft. high, 9 ft. in circumference. Another stood not far apart,
of one solid bole of yet greater magnitude, being, at 10 ft. from the ground,
full 10 ft. in circumference. There is no other of the smaller tribes of trees

“which we consider creates so park-like an appearance as the thorn, when once
it has attaied a certain age and stature; we associate it with no particular
locality, and it serves as a screen or an ornament in any situation that demands
its aid. The gardens, well sheltered by a wood, contain some fine and well-
grown shrubs.”

Gilingham Hall ; Miss Schutz. — “ In front of the house stands the noblest

rT 2

274 Dunean’s Cucumber Culture.

specimen of evergreen oak (Quercus Ilex) it was ever our good fortune, not
forgetting those truly splendid ones at Holkham, to witness. IJt measures, at
1 ft. from the ground, 14 ft. in girth, but the stem is short, and breaks out on
every side into innumerable branches, forming a most noble and almost circular
head, which, in a dense and impervious cluster, covers a space of beyond
180 ft. in circumference. We noticed a plane (Platanus occidentalis) which,
at the root, was 13 ft. in circumference. Another, standing prominently forth,
in full view from the house, 14 ft. in girth, with boughs forming a fine flowing
outline, nearly sweeping to the ground, and, at the extremity, extending over
a circle of 190 ft. We also observed a lime (Tilia europea) forming a group
in conjunction with an elm anda plane: of the two former, one was 12 ft.,
and the other 11 ft., in circumference.”

Raveningham Hall; Sir Edmund Bacon, Bart.—“ We observed, on one
extremity of the grounds, what we have never, so far as we remember, before
witnessed, a grove of old and well-grown sycamores, which for many years
has served for an ample rookery. But, with the exception of a few ashes
and a silver fir of considerable magnitude, the trees are chiefly oak, and are
devoid of that charm which is produced where a greater variety prevails.”

We have, we trust, given enough in the way of foretaste of these interest-
ing places, to induce those who wish to see them described and reasoned on
in detail to procure Mr. Grigor’s work. We hope, when Mr. Grigor has
completed Norfolk, he will undertake Suffolk; and, in short, make a business
of describing grounds, and recording the dimensions of remarkable trees
and shrubs ; because we feel confident that his doing so would increase the
taste for gardening and planting, already very general, but very far from what
it ought to be, considering the resources afforded by our nurseries.

Our Trees in these Numbers are: No. 8. the Larch; No. 9. the Ash ;
No. 10. the White Willow; No. 11. the Beech ; and No. 12. the Horsechest-
nut. The articles on these trees are practical and most judicious, and their
perusal will amply repay both the gardener and the amateur. The engravings
which accompany the work are of oaks, elms, limes, a poplar, a willow,
and others, all fine or remarkable specimens, and, for the most part, well
executed.

Art. III. Cucumber Culture; being a Practical Illustration of a
System of Forcing in connexion with Natural Principles, especially
in relation to Winter and Scientific Modes of Growth: wherein it is
shown that Fruit may be cut during the whole Year, in beautiful
Perfection, on Beds and Pits of new and improved Construction,
and in the Stove. By John Duncan, author of ‘Culture of the
Melon,” &c., gardener to T. Daniel, Esq., Henbury, near Bristol.
12mo, pp. 124, 1 plate. London, 1841.

Tue title will give the reader some idea of the manner in which Mr. Duncan
treats his subject, which is altogether different from that of Mr. Mills’s work,
noticed in p. 229. Mr. Mills founds his practice on experience, and Mr.
Duncan partly on experience, but principally on a general scientific knowledge
of the agents of culture. Whoever would master the subject of cucumber
culture should possess themselves of both works ; unless they can already
grow cucumbers and melons with the success of our correspondent W. H. at
Mawley Hall. (See p. 262.)

Art. IV. Transactions of the Soctety for the Encouragement of
Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. Vol LII. Part IL, and Vol.
LIT. Part I. 8vo. London, 1839 and 1840.

Our last notice of this excellent work was in our Volume for 1839, p. 28].
In the first of the parts before us there is a very interesting paper, “ describing

Transactions of the Society of Arts. 275

the recent Improvements in the agricultural Management of the Fen Districts
of Cambridge and the adjacent counties. These improvements are founded
on the discovery of beds of calcareous marl, lying almost everywhere below
the peaty and silty surface of the fen. A very simple and economical method
of raising the marl, and distributing it over the surface, has been found out ;
the result of which (combined with the perfect system of drainage by the use
of the steam-engine) has been, that lands which, in the usual course, produced
only two grain crops, both of them oats, now yield one crop of oats and two
of wheat.” (Preface, p. vii.)

A paper by Col. Le Couteur, which, though of immediate interest to the
farmer, is yet, by analogy, applicable in horticulture, well deserves notice.
The Wheat Plant, “as is well known, has two kinds of roots; namely, the
seminal, which are first produced, and descend to a considerable depth in the
soil, and the coronal, which shoot out afterwards around the crown of the
plant immediately previous to its tillering. Col. Le Couteur seems to have
ascertained that wheat sown in drills 7 or 9 inches apart, and covered to the
depth of about 3in., is in the most favourable circumstances for the due -
developement of these two sets of roots ; whereas, in wheat sown broadcast,
those grains that are only just covered with soil exhibit the two kinds of
roots mixed and crowded together. In wheat sown about Christmas or in
January, the coronal roots begin to appear about eighty days after the germi-
nation of the seed. This, therefore, is the proper time to give the principal
hoeing, as at this time the weeds may be cut up without any risk of interfer-
ing with the coronal roots; and, by stirring and loosening the ground, so
much encouragement is given to the growth of them, that they soon extend
quite across the drills, occupying the ground to the almost exclusion of the
deeper-rooted weeds, and throwing out a luxuriant growth of side shoots, the
forerunners and causes of an abundant crop.” (p. vi.

Some Seedling Potatoes have been sent to the Society by Mr. Buchanan,
the produce of the second year’s growth, which are to be further cultivated,
and the results communicated to the public in vol. liii.

Part 1. of vol. liii. contains an account of Mr. Paxton’s Machine for making
Sash-Bars, referred to in our Volume for 1839, p. 453., and for 1840, p. 572.,
and for which Mr. Paxton obtained the silver medal. The machine is too
complicated and expensive to be erected by individuals ; but it cannot fail,
we think, to become an essential part of the furniture of every extensive
carpenter and builder.

“The motive power is from an engine of four and a half horse power
employed on the premises for other purposes. Half of this power is required
for the sash-bar machine, and half the expense of the engine, including
attendance, &c., is 5s. a day. The machine can make bars at the rate of
600 ft. an hour ; but it cannot continue long at this rate, as time is required
both to cool and sharpen the saws. The average number of bars per day is
500 4-feet lengths, or 2000 ft. The greater number of bars used here have
been made from Riga deal, and some from oak, &c.; but any well-seasoned
wood may be used. The attendants required for the machine are only a
labouring man and a boy. The first cost was 20/.” (p. 101.)

The following article “On the probable Uses of Coal-dust as a Manure,
and on the Nitrates and on Manganese,” will be read with interest, as bearing
some relation to the papers on growing plants in charcoal, given in p. 152.
219. 221. and 252.

“On the probable Use of Coal-dust as a Manure.— The analogy of the
constituent principles of coal to that of oil or animal matter led to the idea
that it might probably be employed as food for plants ; and, when I further
reflected that many geologists supposed it to be of vegetable origin, I was
strengthened in the opinion. Its destructive distillation, yielding olefiant gas,
ammonia, tar, oil, &c., still more strongly corroborated the idea ; and I was
led to put it into practice and recommend it to others. I shall be very brief,
and confine myself entirely to the results of my own observations, leaving

T 3

276 Transactions of the Society

entirely and completely out of view the opinions and conclusions of others,
some of which were favourable to the views I entertain.

“ The complete insolubility of coal-dust seems to be the insuperable objec-
tion to its utility as a manure ; but surely it is not more insoluble than the
effete ashes.

«I am inclined to believe, from a long-continued series of observations, that
the slender filamentous radicles of plants have a power in all respects equal,
if not superior, to small electro-galvanic wires of low intensity, which, by
slow continued action, decompose most substances that are presented to
them, and, among others, that of coal-dust. Whatever the vital principle
may be, we cannot assign it a lower grade in the scale than that of electro-
galvanic influence ; and we are not assuming too much for the vital action of
the radicles when we claim for them a power equal only to that of small
galyanic wires, which can and do effect a decomposition of coal-dust. ;

« A multitude of facts seem to confirm this idea; but it is not my imtention
to enter on this wide field, but simply to strengthen the proposition of coal-
dust for manure by fair and rational statements. It is certain that substances
regarded by us as nearly insoluble are absorbed into plants in large quantities.
I have taken great pains, on a small scale, to demonstrate the fact, that coal-
dust is not inimical to vegetation, by filling a series of garden-pots with fine
coal-dust, and planting and sowing a variety of plants therein, as potatoes,
onions, &c. &c. In all of them the vegetation was extremely vigorous and
luxuriant. I have filled hyacinth-glasses with coal-dust, and put bulbs
therein, supplying water as required; and the result, when compared with
those without the coal-dust, was very marked and evident; large, healthy,
strong plants being produced, and admired by many.

“T can only say, that those who will fill a box with coal-dust, and plant
potatoes therein, will obtain a good and early crop, more bountiful and finer
than when in common mould under similar circumstances.

“« Strawberries, onions, and a vast variety of useful and ornamental plants,
thrive extremely well indeed in coal-dust.

“‘Coal-dust is remarkably clean and neat, inoffensive, without odour or
stain, not capable of harbouring insects or maggots, well adapted for in-door
floriculture, and enduring for a long period, not consolidating or becoming too
hard by frequent watering, and possessing many great advantages.

“ As coal-dust is so insoluble, it must of necessity be very slow and gradual
in its action, diffusing its influence over a long space of time, not coming into
action quickly; and, independent of its insolubility, it has very little power of
retaining moisture: hence, it is well adapted for those plants that like a light,
loose, dry, and sandy soil, with the evident advantage of containing a very
large amount of nutriment. Of course, coal-dust requires to be intimately
mixed with the lower portion of the soil where the radicles extend, and then
its beneficial action will be very perceptible on the crop of potatoes, peas,
turnips, or cabbages; indeed, all evidence the fact of its being most useful.
T could detail many experiments most satisfactory, but leave the subject with
this communication, assuring your Society that truth, reason, and experience
attest the fact to be as I state ; and whoever will try it on a small scale, with
the knowledge of its being a slow and steady manure of no mean power, will
not be disappointed.

“But those who may be indisposed to adopt the use of coal-dust, may be
induced to try a very excellent combination of coal tar and slacked lime.

“ One gallon of coal-tar, mixed up well and completely with one bushel of
slacked lime, produces a material of warmth and value as a manure; rich and
stimulating, and tending very much to keep away the flies when sprinkled
freely in and among the young turnips.

“‘{ have used this compound with excellent effect on peas and potatoes,
producing an evident and marked effect over the rows where none was used.

‘** Animal tar, or dippel oil, procured from the distillation of bones, and at
present, I believe, a nuisance, if used with slacked lime in the same manner,

Jor the Encouragement of Arts. QF

forms a much richer and more serviceable manure than that of the coal tar.
And thus products of small importance, cheap and abundant, may be turned
to good account in fertilising our soil.

“ The Nitrates of potash, soda, ammonia, and lime, are ail undoubtedly
possessed of considerable efficacy as manures.

“ The nitrate of lime is found in some old mortars; and both nitrate of
ammonia and the nitrate of lime exist in the drainings and liquid of the
dunghills, or muck-heaps ; and to these, in some measure, is owing the highly
fertilising power thereof. Nitrate of ammonia is a beautiful stimulant ; and
those who wish to excite the growth of: favourite plants may water them with.
weak solutions, a dram to a pint of water, or use it in the hyacinth glasses in
the same way as nitre has been used with such efficacy in quickening the
growth.

Owide of Manganese has been tried on many occasions: it readily admits of
vegetation, and seems to possess the power of rousing and calling into action
the dormant and languid vitality of old seeds. If ‘mixed with the soil, it
might yield oxygen to the plant, and absorb it again gradually from the air
and moisture, so as to remain in the soil unimpaired for ages. It would
appear to me to deserve a trial from the results I obtained with it.

“Whatever scepticism or ridicule coal-dust may meet with, I have the
satisfaction of laying before your honourable Society a specimen, which, I
trust, will meet with approbation, and to which, I believe, no valid or rational
objection can be made; and the principle I deem to be one of considerable
national importance. I allude to the combination of quicklime with sprats,
fish, offal, refuse, blood, &c., and which might be used, in a commercial point
of view, by the whalers and sealers using quicklime to preserve the flesh, and
make it into a valuable manureal product, not to be despised in the absence of
a better cargo.

“The Greenland whalers and the Newfoundland sealers, &c., would afford
the means of enormous masses of animal matter being available for manure,
the flesh being now thrown away in both cases.

“The specimen marked ‘ Sprat-lime, No. 1., is a perfect chemical combina-
tion of sprats and lime: —3 parts by weight ‘of sprats; 1 part by weight of
good quicklime.

“The sprats are smashed or crushed by rollers into a complete pulp, and
the whole mass of them carefully and intimately mixed with the quicklime by
trituration. A considerable heat is produced, which tends greatly to the
drying of the sprats ; and some ammonia is evolved, especially if they are not
fresh. In a few days the material is dry. It is necessary to bear in mind that
no artificial heat should be employed, and that they should be turned over
once a day.

‘© Sprat-lime approaches nearest in manureal properties to bone-dust. It is
not liable to be attacked by worms or insects; does not come into rapid
action at first; the sprats are economised and preserved, and their influence
extended over a considerable time, supporting vegetation equably and well for
several years, I presume. It is not destroyed by birds. The animal matter is
not very soluble in sprat-lime; and it is, in well made specimens, in perfect
chemical combination. The proportion of animal matter, or fish, must not be
increased beyond that of three times the quantity of lime employed, otherwise
it will be of a very inferior nature, and liable to decomposition.

“ Lime may be regarded, in an agricultural point of view, as the salt of the
earth, and the means of preserving ‘all substances for manureal purposes.

“TE two parts of fish and one of lime be used, it of course dries the quicker
and faster ; but, then, the bulk of the manure is increased and its value
lessened by the diminution of the fish or animal matter. Three to one seem
to be fair and good proportions. It is most important to bear in mind that
quicklime is to be employed, and not slacked lime, on account of its already
containing its definite quantity of water, and hence its 8 value and efficacy are
very much impaired.

T 4

278 General Notices.

“The specimen marked ‘ Sprats and Lime’ was sprats put into quick-
lime, alternate layers of each, the sprats not being broken. The worm and
maggot attacked them; and this mode is inadequate to their perfect pre-
servation.

“T have tried blood, flesh, and a variety of substances, such as the entrails
and refuse of fish, which all produce useful and valuable fertilising manures.
I appeal to your Society for a verdict, and I leave the subject in your hands ;
it being foreign to my purpose to pursue it any further. Convinced of their
value and importance, I respectfully submit to your decision.” (Vol. liii. p. 9.)

There is a paper “ On the Amputation of the large Branches of Trees,” with
a view to prevent the stump from rotting. “ The branch is cut off at a distance
of 3 or 4 feet from the tree, care being taken to support it in a manner to.
prevent it from splintering the stump. The bark of the stump is then cut into
narrow longitudinal strips, which, after being carefully peeled off with a bark-
ing tool, as far as the body of the tree, are tied back so as to keep them clear
of the saw in the amputation of the stump close to the body of the tree. The
saw-cut surface is then cut smooth with a wide mortise-chisel, and is covered
with’ the strips of bark, cut and fitted to it as accurately as possible, and
fastened down with brads driven in to the depth of about one eighth of an
inch. The wound and surrounding parts are next covered, to the depth of 2
or-3 inches, with a cataplasm, according to the following receipt : — Clay, 4
parts ; fresh cowdung, 2 parts ; wood ashes finely sifted, 1 part.” (p. 10.)

There are papers on the “Cultivation of Tea in Assam,” a “ Report on Tea
from Brazil,” and some other articles of more or less interest to the cultivator ;
but the parts are, as might be expected, chiefly occupied by discoveries and
practical applications in chemistry, manufactures, and mechanics ; the whole
illustrated by well-executed engravings on copper and wood. In a word,
these two parts ably sustain the long-established reputation of the Society, at
once the parent and the model of so many others.

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

Art. I. General Notices:

VITALITY of the Genera Pyrus and Crate\gus.—It is not, perhaps, so generally
known as it ought to be, that most or all of the species of the above genera,
when transplanted of considerable size, and with few fibrous roots, will some-
times remain a year in the ground without putting forth leaves, and yet do so
abundantly the spring of the second year. We have observed this, many years
ago, in the case of transplanting the stumps of large thorn hedges, and also,
more recently, in the case of the mountain ash and Pyrus comunis salicifolia,
and there are now examples of it in the case of fifteen or twenty species or
varieties of thorns, standards, in Mr. Forrest’s Nursery, Kensington. The fact
is capable of useful application, more especially in transplanting large thorn
hedges. — Cond.

A Camera Lucida, well adapted for Gardeners, has recently been invented
by Sir John Robison, late Secretary to the Royal Society of Edinburgh,
whose plant-case is described in our Vol. for 1840, p. 117. This camera is
remarkably cheap, and easily constructed, and is peculiarly applicable to the
delineation of flowers, fruits, bulbs, seeds, and other small objects. It
was exhibited to the Edinburgh Society of Arts, on March 8. 1841, and there
is an account of it in the Mechanic’s Magazine for March 6., and in Jameson’s
Journal for April; and the following notice is compiled from the last two
sources. “ Something similar,’ Sir John Robison observes, “ was suggested
to me, some years since, by the Rev. Mr. Taylor of York, but it had escaped
my memory until lately ; when, looking at some plants confined in a frame of
plate glass, I was struck with the vivid images of the plants reflected from

‘General Notices. 279°

the bright plates, at such an angle as permitted vision of objects through
them, this recalled Mr. Taylor’s suggestion, and showed how it might be
made available for copying natural flowers and other small objects.”

“ Fig. 44, represents a piece of thin plate-glass (A D E F), set upright ona
drawing-board by means of a wooden standard (a B C), in @ groove in which
the edge of the plate is retained by the wedges G and uw. The wooden
standard is not fixed to the drawing-board, and may be set on it in any con-
venient position. To use this apparatus, it is placed in front of the artist,

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with the standard a B c towards him ; the object to be copied is laid on the
left-hand side of the plate, as at 0; the head of the observer being also a
little to the left of the pillar, and the eye directed towards the middle of the
plate, as at m, a distinct image of the object o will be perceived, as if it lay
on the paper at Pp ; and as, at the same time, a pencil held on the right-hand
side of the plate will be equally visible, it may be applied to trace the image at Pp.

“Some attention is required in selecting a favourable position for the ap-
paratus, in respect to the illumination of the object, and its admitting only
such a degree of light to the paper on the right-hand side of the glass, as
may give sufficient distinctness to the point of the pencil, by which precaution
the reflected image is seen to most advantage.”

“ It must be recollected, that the delineation will not represent the ori-
ginal object as beheld by direct vision by an eye placed at 1, being that of
a reflected image, similar to what would be seen by direct vision, if the
eye had been situated at x.” (Mech. Mag., vol. xxxiv. p. 202.)

Kyanised Timber.— In a series of experiments carried on at Welbeck dur‘ng
the last four years, regarding the efficacy of kyanised timber for gardening
purposes, we have not found it last longer, when exposed to great heat and
moisture, than the unprepared. In 1838 His Grace the Duke of Portland first
published the results of a trial in a Calcutta stove, the bottom-heat being sup-
plied by steam, and the prepared and unprepared timber plunged in the tan,
subjected to a heat of from 90° to 100° Fahrenheit; good Memel deal un-
prepared lasted longer than the best oak kyanised. The then managing

280 General Notices.

director of the Anti-Dry-Rot Company and Mr. Kyan came down to see and
test the timber ; and, on their return, sent down from the Company’s yard at
Limehouse eight pieces, prepared and unprepared, to be plunged in the same
stove. The results have been the same as on the first trial; and the different
kinds of prepared timber have decayed quite as fast as the unprepared, Good
Baltic deal unprepared lasted longer than the best kyanised oak, owing, no
doubt, to the resinous quality of the wood. We have tried kyanised timber
in the mushroom shelves, and I am decidedly of opinion that it is prejudicial
to their growth. In 1837, we tried, in the bottom of mushroom beds 1-inch
Scotch fir deals, saturated in copperas and limewater ; it had the effect of pre-
serving the timber for two years ; in the same place, when not saturated, it
never lasted longer than one. Having seen the pernicious effects of timber
kyanised in a large stove at Thoresby, the particulars of which were commu-
nicated to the conductor of the Gardener's Magazine by Earl Manvers, I am
fully convinced it must be used in all horticultural erections with great caution.
Another preparation, which is, I believe, of zinc, has been patented by Sir
W. Burnett, and tried here, the particulars of which I will transcribe from my
memorandum-book. “ April 20. 1840: Received from Sir W. Burnett, from the
Admiralty, eight pieces of timber, four prepared and four unprepared, plunged
in the bark-bed of new Calcutta stove; likewise pieces of canvass, cloth, and
cordage, prepared and unprepared, placed in a damp stokehole, amongst de-
caying vegetable substances. Sept. 28. 1840: The unprepared pieces of
canvass, cloth, and cordage, quite decayed; the prepared sound. Jan. 20.
1841: A piece of scarlet prepared cloth decayed; the other cloth, canvass,
and ropes, sound. The timber, prepared and unprepared, is now beginning to
decay alike, and I have no doubt it will not last longer than Kyan’s, under the
same circumstances. Garden nets, rick cloths, and so on, dipped in Sir W.
Burnett’s preparation, according to the trial made, would last for a great many
years, if taken care of and kept dry, when laid up for the season ; besides, it
has not the poisonous qualities of Kyan’s solution. (W. Tillery, Welbeck ; in
Gard. Chron., Feb. 20. p. 117.)

Pocock’s Asphalte Roofing has been tried as a substitute for bast mats, straw
mats, or boards, for covering frames or pits, in the Dalkeith Gardens, by Mr.
M‘Intosh. This material, which is composed of coarse waste felt saturated
with asphalte, and powerfully compressed, is sold in plates, 16 in. by 32 in.,
and about the thickness of thin pasteboard, at 43d. each. It weighs 60 lb. to
the 100 square feet, and bears extreme heat and any degree of cold. It is
formed into panels in wooden frames, and, of course, may be applied to
all the different uses for which frames or shutters of boards are adapted. Mr.
M‘Intosh considers that it will be found much more efficient and economical
than any other description of covering hitherto in use. (Gard. Chron., Feb.
13. 184:1, p. 100.) The asphalte roofing is sold in London, by Messrs. Pocock
and Co., 61. Cheapside, from whom we have procured a specimen. The dif-
ficulty in using it, we find, will be its tendency to absorb moisture, and become
depressed in the panels into which it is formed when used as protecting
covers. When used as roofing, it is supported on a uniform surface of boards,
which, of course, prevents it from sinking, so that the rain is thrown off almost
as effectually as by slates. — Cond.

Tarred Canvass for Coverings to pits would be more convenient than patent
asphalte roofing, as it might be nailed on the top edge of the pit, and made to
roll up on a roller By putting rails on the frame, the canvass would be a good
protection for the glass, as well as leave a space for air between. If nailed to
wooden frames, it would form screens useful for garden purposes, and is cheap.
The canvass may be of any thickness, according to the purpose for which it is
required. (W.in Gard. Chron., March 13. p. 164.)

To destroy Ants.— Pour solution of chloride of lime round the roots of
plants attacked by them, or lay the following mixture in their runs: “ Take
202. of fine bread crumbs, well dried, and rubbed very small; 20z. of loaf
sugar, well pounded and made very fine ; and 1 oz, of levigated mercury : mix

- General Notices. 281

the whole well together on a sheet of paper, and then put it into a bottle, or
other convenient place, which must be kept very dry.” By laying small
portions of the mixture in the runs of the insects near their nests every day
for a short period, an effectual clearance will soon be obtained. (Gard. Chron.,
Jan. 16. p. 37.)

Woodlice.— By the following very simple method, frames and pits might be
kept comparatively free from woodlice ; at any rate the insects might be so
far subdued by it as not to be injurious to plants. Put a cold boiled or
roasted potato into a small flower-pot, cover the potato with moss, leaving a
little hanging out of the pot, by way of enticing the insects to enter; then lay
the pot on its side in a corner of the frame. Woodlice feed in darkness, and
at the approach of day they escape to their hiding places, in cracks and cre-
vices, or amongst the loose soil or bark ; the moss is, therefore, necessary to
induce them to remain in the pot, to which they will flock in hundreds after
having once tasted the potato. Every morning the pots should be taken out
of the pits and the insects destroyed; the same bait will serve for a week or
longer. If properly attended to, half a dozen pots so prepared will soon clear
a frame of this troublesome insect. (J. B. Whiting, in Gard. Chron. March 6.
p- 150.)

Mr. Green's Cucumber Pit.— The construction of the pit is as follows :
the walls are built of 9-inch brickwork, 5 ft. in the back, and 23 in the front,
and 5 ft. wide in the clear, 36 ft. long, covered with nine lights, and divided
into three compartments. A trough of brickwork is carried along the bottom
from end to end in the centre; this is constructed by first laying two bricks
thick, 1 ft. wide, and then forming the two sides of the trough with bricks on
edge, the whole being so cemented as to hold water. The pit is heated
with hot water by means ofa branch of 24-inch pipes proceeding from the boiler
which heats a stove at a short distance. The hot water flows along the back
and front of the pit, but the return pipes are placed in the trough first de-
scribed, which is filled with water, or partly so, as circumstances may require,
by means of a small pipe that leads to the outside. Another small pipe is laid
in the bottom of the trough for letting off the stagnant water, and for emptying
it occasionally ; for in very dark damp weather a drier heat is required. The
advantages gained by this pit, over anything that I have ever seen or heard
of, are: Ist, a great saving of labour and dung, which last at all times makes a
very littery and unsightly appearance; 2d, the having a sufficient command
of heat in severe and changeable weather; and 3dly, the return-pipe, being
buried or partly buried in water, gives, when required, a sufficient bottom-
heat, and the constant vapour arising from it renders the plant so healthy and
strong that a good crop of fine fruit 1s certain. (Gard. Chron., Jan. 16. p. 36.)

Agriculture, under the monopoly system, is a wholesale manufactory of high
rents and pauperism. That the repeal of the corn laws, which would
mitigate the pauperism, would also destroy the rent, is an illogical conclusion.
Thriving trade, increasing towns, and railway communication, are surer and
more enduring raisers of rent than the strictest monopoly that can be con-
ceived ; and they enhance rent without the accompaniments of bitter
alienation, famishing families, destructive riots, midnight incendiarism, and the
curses of plundered poverty that ascend to heaven. (Morn. Chron., Jan. 12.
1841.

oe on Gravel Walks.— A shaded gravel walk in Professor Henslow’s
garden, at Cambridge, was always covered with a mat of moss, and became
perfectly green in the autumnal months. Mr. Henslow watered it in parallel
and transverse strips with solutions of different salts, to see whether any of ©
them would destroy the moss, and prevent its growing again. Several ap-
peared to kill the moss, which, however, was replaced, in most cases, in a very
short time. He notices “three of the solutions as having produced more
permanent effects; these were, corrosive sublimate, sulphate of iron (green
vitriol), and sulphate of copper (blue vitriol). The first two seemed to kill
the moss immediately, but they also turned it black ; and at the expiration of

282 Domestic Notices : — England.

a year it was still adhering to the surface of the gravel, black instead of green.
But the effect produced by the sulphate of copper was remarkable. The
moss entirely disappeared ; and at the end of the year, when the rest of the
walk was again completely carpeted, the strip which had been watered with
this solution was perfectly bare.” (Gard. Chron., Jan. 16. p. 36.)

Road-making.— In some towns of Belgium, Campeachy and Pernambuco
woods are used for roads after the dye is extracted, and they are reduced to
small pieces. They are admirably adapted to garden-walks, giving them the
softness, elasticity, and warmth of a carpet. (Gard. Chron., Jan. 30. p. 71.)
Spent tan is frequently used for the same purpose in Belgium.

Art. II. Domestic Notices.

ENGLAND.

Parks and Pleasure-Grounds. — In the Westminster Review for April, there
is a very interesting article with the above title, to which we wish to direct
the attention, not only of gardeners, but of the inhabitants of towns and cities.
The object of the article is to procure parks and pleasure-grounds for the
working classes, and to show the progress that has been made in attaining this
object during the last five years.

“Public opinion is gradually awakening to a sense of the importance of
open spaces for air and exercise, as a necessary sanatory provision, for the in-
habitants of all large towns. Some little sympathy, too, is beginning to be felt
for those who have hitherto suffered almost a total privation of every innocent
pleasurable excitement, and a desire exists, or is at least professed, in in-
fluential quarters, to extend the rational enjoyments of the working classes.
It is five years since Mr. Buckingham, member for Sheffield, moved in the
House of Commons that the inhabitants of large towns should be empowered
to rate themselves for the purpose of providing public gardens, or open spaces,
for the healthful recreation of the class now pent up in courts and alleys, or
confined to crowded streets. It is well known that on the Continent similar
powers have been long intrusted to the municipalities of towns. In the
suburbs of many of the cities of Germany and Holland where fortifications
once existed, the walls have been demolished, the ditches filled up, and beds
of flowers, shrubberies, and broad gravel walks formed instead ; where, in
summer time, the whole population may often be seen enjoying the pleasure
of an evening promenade. In free England, it was proposed that the inhabi-
tants of our towns should be permitted to tax themselves, if they thought
proper, to the extent of the funds necessary for a similar object ; and a
ministry, and a majority in parliament, resisted the proposition ; and to this
day powers which might have been claimed as rights haye been withheld from
all the municipal councils of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1837, Mr. Hume
succeeded in carrying a resolution, as one of the standing orders of the House,
that in all new enclosure bills some portion of the waste lands about to be
appropriated should be set apart for the healthful recreation of the inhabitants
of the neighbouring towns or villages. Since the resolution was adopted by
the House, sixty-three enclosure bills have passed into law, and several hundred
acres of land, which would otherwise have become private property, have been
secured to the public. This is an admirable beginning, but one which may be
regarded rather as a preventive of future evils (arising from an increasing
and too crowded population) than a cure for those which have long existed.
The pale and sickly mhabitants of towns see nothing but brick walls stretching
farther and farther in every direction around them, green fields becoming
brick-fields, pleasant hedge-paths converted into long lines of streets, and
every opening closed, or closing, from which a glimpse of nature could once
be obtained. How many thousands of those who, once or twice in the year,
visit St. James’s and Hyde Park on Sundays are deterred, by a weary walk of
three or five miles, from habitually enjoying a privilege designed chiefly for the

Domestic Notices : — England. 283

inhabitants of the west end, many of whom have parks of their own. It is to
Mr. Hume we are also principally indebted for preserving Primrose Hill from
the grasp of private speculators. He successfully resisted the project of con-
verting this favourite resort of Londoners into a private cemetery, and was the
means of inducing Government to purchase the property from Eton College
and Lord Southampton ; a purchase which has recently been effected, to the
extent of fifty-eight acres, for the benefit of the public, at a cost of 300/. per
acre. This is a most gratifying fact. But still it is in the Borough, and at
the east rather than at the west end of London, that open spaces for healthful
recreation are most needed. Another pleasing circumstance is, that benevo-
lent, public-spirited, and wealthy individuals are beginning to be interested in
the same object. We esteem those who, with excellent, but often erring in-
tentions, have founded charitable societies for the relief of suffering ; but
greater honour to those who look beyond the palliatives that may alleviate or
remove distress, and think how the happiness and best interests of the ope-
rative are to be promoted! Give us for reformers men who have honest
sympathies with the class of whose cause in parliament or public meetings
they profess to be the advocates. Among those who assume the name are
some who enclcse immense possessions with walls and gates, and employ
keepers with guns to guard every avenue to the vast solitudes by which they
choose to be surrounded. Let such men pitch their tents in the deserts of
Sahara, or the wild prairies of America, What business have they here, in
the midst of a civilised community, linked together by chains of mutual obli-
gation and dependence? It is pleasant to dwell upon the contrast afforded
by the conduct of one individual, Mr. Strutt, to the selfishness of the class to
which we have alluded. His late gift to the town of Derby is one of the
noblest benefactions of modern times; one which we delight to notice,
because it has no tendency to frustrate the lessons of forethought and self-
dependence which nature teaches, to pauperise industry, or make the poor
man trust to the bounty of the rich, instead of the energies which an honest
pride would raise within him. Were one general system adopted with all the
public parks and gardens in the vicinity of London, such is their variety of soil
and aspect, that they might be made to exhibit fine specimens of all the dif-
ferent kinds of trees and shrubs which will grow in the climate of Middlesex.
If these were conspicuously named in such parts of the parks and gardens as
were destined for pedestrians, the names and the plants would tend to amuse
and instruct every class of the population, as in the case of the Derby Arbo-
retum. The late Duke of Baden, though in many respects a great tyrant, yet
kept, all the summer, an excellent band of music perambulating in the public
park and gardens at Carlsruhe, from two o’clock in the afternoon till dusk.
To these gardens all the inhabitants of Carlsruhe had access at all times. The
effect of the music among the trees, a sudden burst coming sometimes in one
direction and then in another, sometimes close at hand and again at a distance,
was quite enchanting, and may, perhaps, have had some effect in giving a
peculiarly mild and gentle character to the inhabitants of Carlsruhe. If the
metropolis and its suburbs were put under the management of a council, or
commission like that which exists in Paris and Munich, a general reformation
of all the public gardens, and a general superintendence of all new streets,
would be one of the duties of such commission, and an annual metropolitan
rate of a halfpenny in the pound would raise a fund sufficient to render
London a model for European capitals.” (Westminster Review, April, 1841.)
- The Bath Royal Horticultural and Botanical Society has (on April 10.)
presented its late curator, Mr. W. H. Baxter, with a handsome silver cup,
bearing the following inscription : — “ Presented by the Committee of the
Bath Royal Horticultural and Botanical Society to W. H. Baxter, as a testi-
mony of their approbation of his conduct during the time he acted as their
Curator.”
Mr. Baxter, most of our readers are aware, is the son of the much
respected curator of the Botanic Garden, Oxford. He compiled, under our

284 Retrospective Criticism.

direction, the last Supplement to the Hortus Britannicus, and the forthcoming
Supplement to the Encyclopedia of Plants; and we can, from these and other
circumstances, most strongly recommend him as peculiarly well adapted for
being the curator of a botanic and horticultural garden. We trust some
good appointment of this sort will be his lot at no distant period. — Cond.

TRELAND.

Botanic Garden, Glasnevin, Dublin, March 1%. 1841.— From the unre-
mitting interest you take in behalf of young gardeners, and the many persuasive
arguments you have from time to time published, with a view of encouraging
them to mental improvement, I feel convinced, you will be gratified to find
that others of a kindred spirit are not wanting, who most liberally contribute
to the means for obtaining so desirable an object. The following books
were lately bequeathed by the late Mr. Robertson, nurseryman, Kilkenny,
in trust to the Royal Dublin Society, for the use of the professors, curators,
subcurators, and pupils in the Glasnevin Botanic Garden, where the library is
desired to be placed, and in such a way as it can be made available to all
concerned.

These books, to such an establishment as this, will be of the very greatest
value to it ; because there are constantly from eight to ten young men employed,
who generally come from the country, and remain a term of two years in the
Society’s gardens, after which they go out to make way for others. During
that period they are regularly put through all the departments in the garden,
and afforded an opportunity of annually attending a course of botanical lec-
tures. Hitherto the want of a garden library, where the young men could
read in the evenings, has been very much felt ; but now, since the books are
supplied by the liberality of Mr. Robertson, there can be no doubt of the
Society making any further arrangements which may appear necessary for
carrying out Mr. Robertson’s intentions. — D. Moore.

Mr. Robertson, F.H.S., died in August, 1839, and a short notice of the
circumstance will be found in our obituary for that year (p. 584.) We
have not given a list of the books, which amount to upwards of 420
volumes of gardening and botanical publications, mostly published since the
commencement of the present century, and including all that have, during
that period, been, either in France or England, considered the most valuable.
We deeply regret to learn that, since the donation was received, the Irish
Government has refused to continue the annual grant to the Dublin Society ;
but surely such a refusal cannot be persisted in, since, if there were nothing
more to result from it than the ruin of this garden, the loss to Ireland would
be very great indeed. — Cond.

“Tt would appear, from a circular issued by the Lord-Lieutenant, that,
though His Lordship declines recommending the usual parliamentary grant
of 5,300/. per annum, it is competent for the commission to report in favour
of continuing it to the Dublin Society, should they think that the public
would be benefited by so doing.” (Times, April 9. 1841.)

Art. III. Retrospective Criticism.

COMPARATIVE Temperature of different Years. (p. 235.) — Your correspondent
N. remarks on my paper upon the equality of temperature, that the average
temperature is found to vary as much as 5°, therefore, I beg to inform him
that I took as my authority Professor Whewell. In his Bridgewater Treatise,
he states that the average temperature is about 50°4; that the year 1788 was
so severe that the Thames was passable on the ice, and the mean temperature
50°6, being within a small fraction of a degree of the standard. In 1796,
when the greatest cold ever known in London occurred, the mean was 50:1,
which is likewise within a small fraction of the standard. In 1813-14, the
average temperature was 49°, being little more than a degree below the

Retrospective Criticism. 285

standard; and, in 1808, when the temperature in London was 93°5°, the
average was only 50°5°. Therefore, taking these as facts, and considering the
almost impossibility of ascertaining the exact temperature during a year, I, as
already stated, considered that, for every practical purpose, it is sufficiently
accurate to assume they are invariably alike ; and, as every created thing bears
the indelible stamp of design in its creation, it seems unlikely any thing so
truly important should be left to chance. Now, these statements are either
founded in error, the years sadly changed, or N. mistaken ; and, until I am
better informed, I must consider the latter to be the case. But I should like
to see the correctness of the statement discussed by those able to do so. It
seems to me surprising that instruments better calculated to ascertain the
temperature have not been produced, as a thermometer that would register
the temperature of every hour might easily be invented. N. differs from me
also upon acclimatising plants. He considers their nature immutable, yet he
overthrows the proposition by stating that in successive generations we can
do a little; but grant that the progeny of a plant can be rendered more hardy
than its parent, and the same rule must be applicable ad infimtum.— N. M. T.
Folkestone, April 3: 1841.

Mr. Penn’s Mode of Heating and Ventilating. (p. 232.) —It appears to me
that G. C., in noticing Mr. Penn’s mode of heating, has gone rather too far, and
admitted a little more of the truth than he intended. The upward air, he says,
amounted to an agitating current. Without a downward current, how was
the upward one supplied? This unhappy admission of fact has established
what he so anxiously wished to disprove. Next time he catches a frosty day
let him hold a lighted candle in the drains, and he will be convinced there are
more currents than the upright ones—N. M. T. April 7. 1841.

Mr. Forsyth’s Plant Structures.— Mr. Forsyth, in p. 204., refers with much
seeming satisfaction to the gloomy structures he has recommended (Vol. XIII.
p- 62.) for the culture of plants, which reminds me that I intended entering
my protest against all such pseudo-economical structures, and cautioning the
inexperienced against erecting them, as the result must be inevitable disap-
pointment. I am now, despite of previous prepossessions to the contrary,
convinced that they are altogether unfit for the purpose of exotic culture
during the months of winter. The inelegant appearance of the houses re-
commended in Vol. XIII. p. 204. would deter most people from erecting
them, were they not held forth as economical ; but a trial will prove this to
be an utter fallacy, as I calculate they require at least one third more fire than
houses having front or upright glass, upon which the sun can act at a season
when his oblique rays are utterly powerless upon houses without it. Ata
time, too, when the influence of light is universally known to be indispensable
to the progress of vegetation, it seems incredible that any one should so far
expose himself as to advocate structures that go so far to exclude it. Light
is, in fact, the only difference in artificial climates between summer and winter,
and the progress made by vegetation is in proportion to its intensity, showing
it to be an essential which no artifice can supply ; consequently, a house con-
structed to admit a single ray more than another is the more perfect, and
vice versa. Mr. Forsyth commiserates the amateur who possesses detached
houses with glazed ends, glass doors, partitions, &c.; still these houses, shed-
like though they be (but appearance can have no effect upon the man who
admires brick fronts, brick ends, and brick partitions), yield to none in their
fitness for the culture of plants. Being detached, enhances their real value,
as they enjoy several hours more direct sun than they otherwise would, and
the advantage of this, economy apart, will not be denied by any who admit
the powerful agency of light. Such structures would be considered more
perfect by the “ridiculous foolery of glazing the dead north wall,” p. 204, as
this would put plants in the position assigned them by the hand of the “ Glo-
rious Architect Divine ;” placed, as it were, in a centre of light, without which
they are apt to become, like Mr. Forsyth’s structures, terribly one-sided ; and,
however contemptible he may deem the pale blue rays of the north, still, when

286 Queries and Answers.

directly admitted, they do much towards keeping plants in health, as may be
seen in houses so constructed.

It is the allowing a free ingress of light on all sides, the presenting a direct
surface to the sun, and the absence of all shade that renders the hand-glass so
well calculated to conserve or grow plants; and it is the very reverse of all
this that will render the substitute he proposes a sorry one. It can be said
to present no direct surface where light is a desideratum ; it will at all times
shade, consequently render cold and damp a space equal to what it covers,
and this to the greatest extent when these things are most to be avoided.
The proposed substitutes are, in fact, so many small frames, and the superiority
of plants wintered in hand-glasses, over those wintered in frames, is known to
every one. The calm Christian-like manner in which he proposes depositing
himself in heaven when all these petty cares are o’er, has my hearty concur-
rence; and, without hastening his transit thither, I do hope he may long be
anchored there before plants are immured in the paradise he bespeaks for
them.— NV. M. T. Folkestone, April 7. 1841.

Many of Mr. Forsyth’s remarks are in such direct opposition to what you
deem good taste, that I have often wondered you have not pointed them out.
Many suppose all printed in the Magazine as meeting your approbation. —
N. MM. T.

After mature consideration, and the experience of many years, we deem it
best for the good of our readers to avoid, in most cases, giving our own
opinion : first, because we may be wrong ; and secondly, because, whether right
or wrong, such a system on the part of an editor has a tendency to check dis-
cussion. The mere knowledge of truth is not sufficient to fortify the mind
against error. To make any truth our own, we must have sought it out from
among errors and falsehoods. By repeated discussion, truths become im-
pressed on the mind, which, if laid down as laws or facts, would have no
effect whatever. The first step towards enlightening any man in a branch of
knowledge in which he is deficient is to argue on what he already knows ;
not to lay before him the naked truth of the case, which he might neither un-
derstand nor be able to apply. Knowledge, therefore, among gardeners, as
among every other class of society, can only be infused slowly and by degrees ;
and the great use of the Gardener’s Magazine is, that every one can ask
according to his wants, and that every one can receive supplies according to
his capacity for receivmg and making use of them. Though all articles,
therefore, which appear in this Magazine do not, as N. M. T. says “ many
suppose,” meet our approbation from the particular views which they take of
the subject on which they treat, yet all which we insert do so with a view to
useful discussion. That knowledge on any subject is very little to be de-
pended on which is limited to one side of the question, even if that side
should be the right one. — Cond.

Art. 1[V. Queries and Answers.

PREVENTING Hares and Rabbits from injuring the Bark of Trees. (p. 96.)—
About seven years ago, I was much annoyed at the barking of some young dwarf
apple trees by hares and rabbits, from which they were unprotected. Aware
that these animals were rather particular in their feeding, I had some old cow-
dung collected, put into pails, and mixed with water to the consistency of
thick paint; and this substance was laid upon the stems and branches of the
trees, with a large painter’s brush, as far as it was thought the hares could reach.
I had the satisfaction of finding they never were touched afterwards, and the
application remained on without renewing for several years. I have no doubt
it would be equally useful for forest trees.— Peter Kendall. Gifford’s Hall,
Stoke by Naigland, April 13. 1841.

THE

GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,
JUNE, 1841.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Art. I. A Gardening Visit to Paris, from June 28. to August 16.
1840. By the ConpucTor.

(Continued from p. 204.)

Tue preceding portion of our tour, as well as that which
follows, was written shortly after our return from France, and
both are published exactly as they were written. Had this not
been the case, we should have been tempted to introduce some
remarks on the recent scheme for fortifying Paris; a scheme
which we deeply regret, as sinking an immense amount. of
capital, which we cannot help thinking would have been much
better employed in the formation of roads, railroads, and other
territorial improvements. It is singular that while Paris is
being fortified, the walls of Potsdam are being levelled with the
eround, and those of Berlin are expected soon to follow.

London to Brighton. —June 29. Within ten or twelve miles
of Brighton we observed a small villa, in which all the trees were
spurred in, and furnished with short branches from the ground
to the top; thus giving every tree more or less the form of a
cypress or Lombardy poplar, but with a considerable difference
in the colour and character of the surface of the foliage. The
effect was singular, and such as by contrast would produce a
striking appearance in the grounds of a small villa formed in
the bosom of an extensive natural forest.

Dieppe. — July 1, 2. Footways of asphalte are formed in
the principal streets, so as to add wonderfully to the comfort of
pedestrians. When these footpaths cross carriage entrances,
they do not terminate in kerbstones and steps, as is generally
the case in Britain, but in inclined planes, which prevent all
risk of stumbling, and are the more necessary in Dieppe, as these
carriage entrances to courts are of frequent occurrence. The
greater part of the town is laid out in a regular manner, with
the houses all of the same height, and with the same elevation;
the town having been burnt dawnt in time of war, and rebuilt by

the government on one general plan. The external elevations
1841. —VI. 3d8 U

288 Gardening Visit to Paris,

indicate a certain degree of attention to design and effect; the
system being one of vertical supports or pilasters to a frieze and
cornice, which run from one end of the street to the other. The ~
windows are between the pilasters, against which abut their flat
slightly arched heads. On the whole, it is satisfactory in these
elevations to trace the appearance of design, notwithstanding the
sameness produced by continual repetition. The public baths,
erected from the designs of M. Dupont, a resident architect,
with whom we had the pleasure of becoming acquainted, ex-
hibit a long-extended elevation, well adapted for the site. In
front are some trees and shrubs planted among sand and grass,
and treated (or rather neglected) in a manner which must ever
prevent them from growing vigorously. Ata short distance, a
plantation of standard roses and dahlias shows what may be
produced in the locality with a little care. Among the flowers
in the shop windows, tree mignonette, twenty years ago so
common about London, is frequently met with; as well as some of
the new annuals, such as Clarkza pulchélla. There is much
curious architecture within and without the cathedral; but we
shall only notice the kind of chair (fg.
45.) used here and at Rouen in the
churches, which has two bottoms; an
upper one for sitting on, and a lower
one for kneeling on, the upper one being
turned up so as to form a resting-place
for the elbows or head. The joint is
formed by a pin working in a projection
from the back style of the chair. To
keep the upper seat perfectly steady, the
lower part of the front style drops into a
socket in the upper part of the lower
front style. We have here given an en-
graving of the chair, and also of another
In page 298.; because we think they are,
with some modification, well adapted for
public gardens ; the low seats being convenient for children.
There are no sewers in Dieppe, which was assigned to us
as the reason why there are no water-closets. Sewers, it is said,
are objected to on account. of the expense; and hence what would
form their contents is conveyed away in the gutters, on the
surface of the streets. In some of the back streets, these gutters
are so wide as to expose a large surface of watery material to
evaporation, and hence the smell in warm weather is most dis-
agreeable and unwholesome. To complete the arrangements for
the health of the town, either sewers should be formed, or per-
petual currents of fresh water should be made to run through

Fig. 45. Chair adapted for Public
Gardens or Pleasure-Grounds.

Jrom June 28. to August 16. 1840. 289

the gutters of all the back streets. ‘The contents of the main
sewers should be filtered by being passed through gratings at
the points where they enter the sea, which would intercept more
bulky or light floating impurities, and furnish some manure.
The liquid would still be unwholesome, but it would be in a
state to be immediately diluted with sea-water to such an extent
as to take away all its noxious qualities, with reference to deposi-
tion or evaporation. The surface gutters at present empty
themselves into the river, in consequence of which its bed is
muddy and disfigured when the tide is low; but were the
contents of the sewers filtered, even if they did not empty them-
selves into the sea, this could not be the case. We stopped at
the Hotel de Europe, a French house, at once comfortable and
economical.

Dieppe to Rouen.—July 3. The delight which we experienced
on the first appearance of the clipped arbours and arcades of
trees, after leaving the town, can be accounted for, partly from
the effects of change of air, and partly from the love of the past
combined with the love of novelty; this kind of villa being at
once old in its style as well as in reality, and new to us from the
rarity, or almost total absence, of such villas in England. Ad-
dison speaks of the powerful effect of things at once new and
strange; and we might here enlarge on the sentiment produced
by things old, and at the same time new.

The large proportions of the doors and windows in these
villas, and, as a consequence of this, the smallness of the number
of windows, and the absence of bold projections and recesses,
(not to mention the arched window-heads, upright central di-
visions, the windows opening like doors, and large panes of
glass,) show at once a marked difference between French and
English villa dwellings. ‘There is something grand in the large
proportions; but the sameness in size and distribution of the
windows does not, to an Englishman, give the same ideas of ac-
commodation and comfort in the interior which windows of
different sizes on different floors, and large projections do. We
like to see, in a country house, a decided entrance portico, or
porch, in some conspicuous part of the elevation; next, to be
able to determine by the size and disposition of the windows,
whether the principal living-rooms are on the ground floor or
the floor above. We do not expect to be able to discover
the windows of the drawingroom in the entrance front, but
most certainly we do so in the garden front; and the smaller
windows in the second and third story always indicate the
dressing-rooms and bed-rooms. Very little of this is to be dis-
tinguished in the exterior of a French villa, at least in those of
the last century; in England, the living-rooms and the sleeping-

U 2

290 Gardening Visit to Parts,

rooms can generally be recognised externally in all well de-
signed houses.

Between Dieppe and Rouen the greatest care is taken in
planting and protecting the road-side trees. ‘They are always
planted on little hills, the stems protected by thorny branches,
tied close round them, as in the Regent’s Park, or by being
wound round with straw ropes, from the ground to the height of
7 or 8 feet. These straw ropes, by preventing excessive evapo-
ration from the bark, must be useful to the tree the first and
second year after planting; and, accordingly, the practice is
frequently adopted with standard fruit trees in gardens in
France and Holland, and formerly also in Scotland, which took
its gardening from these countries. The kinds of trees planted
along the road are principally apples; those in plantations,
almost every where, beech, on account of the peculiar value of
that timber as fuel; and also because the beech is found to
thrive in this part of France better than any other tree. The cot-
tages by the road side are of two kinds: mud huts thatched, with
little appearance of comfort; and brick or stone buildings, with
the same class of accommodation as the mud huts, and cha-
racterised by red brick coins and facings to the windows, and
tiled roofs. ‘The cottage gardens were in general well cultivated ;
and in the neighbourhood of the manufactories, which occurred
at several places on this road, they were stocked with flowers
and shrubs, many of which were of new kinds. Here, also, are
some villas, probably belonging to English manufacturers, in
which English gardening is imitated with considerable success.
In one we observed the effect of masses produced by an agere-
gation of small groups and single trees, a mode of arrangement
which it is extremely difficult to get persons to understand and
act upon in England; the objections being that trees grow faster
in clumps, and that the expense of enclosing and protecting
small groups and single trees is greater than in protecting the
same trees in masses. We have shown the fallacy of both these
arguments, in our suggestions for the improvement of Kensington
Gardens, in Vol. XIII. p. 150.—157.

Rouen. — July 4—7. The Botanic Garden has been removed
to a new site, which was formerly occupied by Calvert as a
nursery; and it now contains upwards of twenty acres. ‘The
arrangement, or école, is on a piece of level ground in the centre
of the garden, in beds of 5 ft. wide, with paths between them of
3 ft. 6 in. in width. There are two rows of plants in each bed, and
the classification is that of Jussieu, as modified by the late Pro-
fessor Marquis, which is also that followed in the Botanzque
appliqué of the present Professor Pouchet. We examined every
tree and shrub in the collection, which is sufficient for a provin-
cial garden. ‘The names of a number of the species are different

Jrom June 28. to August 16. 1840. 291

from those adopted by us in the Arboretum Britannicum, but we
had not time to make a list. The surrounding part of the garden
is not yet completed, or, rather, is only commenced. ‘There is
to be a department for horticulture, including a collection of
fruit trees; and an arboretum et fruticetum is to be distributed
round the whole. The fruit-wall is already formed, and planted
with peaches, nectarines, and apricots, all on little hills. The
larva of the cockchafer is here so extraordinarily troublesome,
that in front of the peach trees, about 2 ft. from their roots, rows
of cabbage lettuces are planted to attract the larva; and, as soon
as any lettuce begins to wither, the worm at its root is sought
for and killed. Some hothouses are already erected, and heated
by hot water in Kewley’s manner. To shelter this garden, a
row of handsome plants, 15 ft. high, of Quércus pedunculata
fastigiata, is planted; a tree which, it is much to be regretted,
is quite neglected in England. It might be had by hundreds
from the Parisian or Lyons nurserymen, or from Bollwyller, or
Tarascon, or Metz; and there are, we believe, plenty of plants
of it at Sawbridgeworth. The finished parts of the garden were
in excellent order, and did the highest credit to M. Dubreuil,
the director.

The Cemetery, which was just commenced when we were
here in 1828, and was then a naked hill, without a single tree
or building, is now intersected by avenues, chiefly of spruce fir,
but partly also of Scoteh pine and silver fir; and there is one
avenue of Populus alba. A considerable number of very hand-
some tombs have been erected, and there is scarcely one of these
of which it can be said that it is not in good taste. It is the
best school for this department of architecture that we know of,
and is highly creditable to the taste of the wealthy classes of
Rouen. We can only account for this from the general intelli-
gence which prevails among the wealthy classes, almost all en-
gaged in commerce, manufactures, or the law, and from the
necessity of every one who would bury here purchasing the
ground. The ground belongs to the town, and is sold at a fixed
rate per square foot (about ten francs), without reference to situ-
ation. At the entrance to the cemetery there is a garden, with
greenhouses, frames, and pits, kept by the curator, for raising
ornamental plants, in pots, to decorate the tombs of such as are
willing to pay for this peculiar luxury. Some of the tombs are
constantly ornamented, during summer, with 200 or 300 pots of
greenhouse plants, others with two or three dozen, some with
only one or two, some with a nosegay in water, some with a
wreath of enaphaliums, helichrysums, &c. (immortelles); and
some, which we think the best taste of all, are without any thing.
The grave of that excellent man, M. l’Abbé Gossier, which is
not yet furnished with a tomb, had a pot plunged in the mound

uv 3

292 Gardening Visit to Paris,

of earth, which, our guide told us, when placed there by a friend
of the abbé, contained Duc van Thol tulips. A biographical
notice of M. Gossier, of whose beautiful garden, mentioned in
one of our early-volumes, we have a plan ready to engrave, has
been kindly promised us by Professor Pouchet. The abbé had
a handsome fortune, half of which he left to public institutions
in Rouen, and his excellent library to one of the schools.

The principal Improvements that have taken place at Rouen,
since we last saw it, have been made along the quays, and consist
of a suspension-bridge, the completion of a stone bridge, and the
line of buildings, public and private, in very good taste. ‘The
streets in the interior of the town have not yet had footpaths of
asphalte laid down, an improvement much wanted, on account of
their narrowness and the roughness of the pavement. Never-
theless, there are some very remarkable improvements ; such as
the formation of a spire to the cathedral, including a staircase
within, both entirely of openwork of cast iron; and the Hotel
de Ville is improving in what may be called the Municipal
Gothic style. In this building, suspended against the wall of
the erand staircase, is a brass plate, the inscription on which
recalled to mind our favourite idea of the ultimate prevalence of
the same weights, measures, money, laws, and language: it was
dated 19th Brumaire, an 8, and signed Liberté et “Egalité. We
observed in one part of the town a contrivance for preventing
bad smells from arising from aquariums, which is worthy of imi-
tation in towns in similar climates to those of Rouen and Paris,
viz. a copper tube, placed in the back part of the aquarium,
pierced with holes, from which there is a continual flow of
water. We observed, also, portable wooden aquariums, formed
of staves, like casks, and placed in the angles of buildings, by
which the fluid is preserved for manure; but these, we think,
would be improved by a wooden screen placed before each, open
at the two sides; which would also be a great improvement in
the aquariums formed on the Boulevards in Paris. The broad
gutters in the streets in the interior part of Rouen are not so
injurious as the broad gutters in Dieppe, on account of the much
greater steepness of the former town; but, nevertheless, every thing
ought to be attempted by the authorities which has a tendency
to narrow the evaporating surface.

Rouen to Paris. — July 8. Went on board the steam-boat at
3 past 4 o’clock in the morning, and arrived at Pecq, near
St. Germains, at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. The banks of the
river are varied and agreeable, one being higher than the other,
and there are 300 islands. The high bank, being chiefly chalk or
limestone hills, has a tame character as compared with the lower
part of the Rhine, and some parts of the Rhéne between Lyons and
Avignon. ‘There are a number of suspension and other bridges,

Jrom June 28. to August 16. 1840. EOS:

which have every appearance of being most scientifically con-
structed: but in the cases of the suspension-bridges, not only in
this part of the Seine but in and about Paris, and from Paris to
Thomery, we did not observe one where the supports to the
suspending chains were in good taste; or, in other words, in
good architectural developement. ‘They are generally arches of
masonry; and the chains, or wire cables, pass through holes in
the upper parts of these arches, which holes appear to have
been made after the work was completed with the intention of
supporting something else. ‘There is not even the trouble taken
of putting a facing, or frame, round the hole, to show that it is a
hole made purposely for some object. Sometimes this hole
passes under the frieze, and sometimes through it, and occasion-
ally it passes over the cornice; but always in such a way as to
appear an afterthought, and by no means artistically united or
connected with the support, or as a developement of what is
below. In the central supports of the suspension bridge at
Rouen, cast-iron Grecian columns are employed, which shows
great poverty of invention; and in other situations, at Rouen
and Paris, obelisks are used, with the holes bored through the
apex. To render these supports what they ought to be, an
engineer must arise, who to the science of engineering adds a-
genius for artistical composition. Old architectural associations
must be neglected, and the foundation laid for new associations,
founded in truth and usefulness; on cast iron, and the various
purposes for which it is now employed.

The views of the banks of the river are, to us, pleasing in
themselves, and from their being different from any thing of the
kind which occurs in Britain. ‘They are pleasing, also, because,
from time to time, we pass a large manufacturing town, and
because, between these towns, the soil is occupied by innumer-
able small proprietors (their stone-built cottages generally near
the water’s edge); who, though they live a life of toil, are yet
perfectly independent, having all the resources of a good soil, a
favourable climate, and a river which supplies them with fish for
the trouble of fishing. With the resources of the river and the
soil, it does not seem possible that persons:so circumstanced can
ever come to want; but whether, with the necessity which must
exist for every part of the family to work hard in operations all
more or less laborious, there can be much time for reading is
doubtful; and, without being able to spend some portion of every
day in reading, we cannot conceive the existence of much refined
enjoyment. Had this idea not intruded itself, we should have
been tempted to envy the condition of these apparently happy
people; though we have no doubt it will be alleged that we
viewed them cowleur de rose. ‘The general want of instruction
among this class of society in France renders it impossible that

u 4 -

294 Gardening Visit to Paris,

there should at present be any taste for reading among the

poorest class; but the time may come, and we hope will come,
not only in France but in every country, when reading will be
considered as a necessary of life; and then, and not till then,
will the wages of common country labourers be such as to admit
of their indulging in this enjoyment. The condition of small
proprietors of this kind has, within the present century, been
much improved by the general culture of the potato, by which a
greater quantity of food is raised with less labour; and it is
beginning to be still further ameliorated by the low price of
manufactured cottons and linens, which, by rendering the growth
of flax, and, consequently, spinning at home, unnecessary, lessens
the labour of the women. On the supposition, then, that the
small proprietor is not burthened with a large family, that he
and his wife have been educated, and both experience the
pleasure of reading, and that they also take an interest in the
politics of their country (which, in our opinion, is an essential
ingredient to the dignity and happiness of man), we can conceive

them to be tolerably happy. Others, however, see things in

quite a different light, and deprecate this division and sub-
division of property.*

* The following observations on this subject by Mr. Alison, in his work
entitled The Principles of Population, §c., are peculiarly appropriate :—

“ As the division of land is thus the great step in the progress of improve-
ment, so its distribution among the lower orders, in civilised society, is essential
to maintain that elevation of mind which the separation of employments has a
tendency to depress. It is too frequently the melancholy effect of the division
of labour which takes place in the progress of opulence, to degrade the indi-
vidual character among the poor ; to reduce men to mere machines ; and prevent
the developement of those powers and faculties which, in earlier times, are called
forth by the difficulties and dangers with which men are then compelled to
struggle. It is hence that the wise and the good have so often been led to
deplore the degrading effect of national civilisation: that the vast fabric of
society has been regarded as concealing only the weakness and debasement of
the great body by whom it has been erected; and that the eye of the philan-
thropist turns from the view of national grandeur and private degradation, to
scenes where a nobler spirit is nursed, amid the freedom of the desert or the
solitude of the forest. ‘To correct this great evil, Nature has provided various
remedies, arising naturally from the situation of man in civilised society, and
one of the most important-of these is the distribution of landed property among
the labouring poor. _ It is this which gives elevation to the individual character ;
which gives a feeling of independence to the industrious labourer, and permits
the growth of those steady views and permanent affections which both
strengthen and improve the human mind It is this, in short, and this alone,
joined to the religious and moral education of the great body of the people,
which is adequate to counteract the degrading effect of national civilisation
upon the poorer classes ; which can permit the growth of the human mind to
keep pace with the advancement of knowledge and the progress of general
improvement; and enable the poor to retain, in periods of wealth and civilis-
ation, the individual character and the station in the community which belonged
to them when society existed in a more simple form.”

“To improve the habits and enlarge the ideas of comfort among the poor,
the acquisition of property of any kind is of great importance ; but the effects

from June 28. to August 16. 1840. 295

The banks of the Seine differ from those of any river in
Britain in exhibiting no large or full-grown trees. ‘There are
only two or three spots between Havre and Thomery where

of landed property seem to be beyond any other. There is something healthful
to the human mind in the possession of a portion of the earth. Property of
other kinds is easily squandered or dissipated, and never can give rise to those
feelings of attachment which spring up in the minds even of the lowest of man-
kind with the acquisition of property in land. The incessant labour which it
requires ; the habits of solitude or of domestic society to which it gives rise ;
the permanence of the object itself; all tend to introduce habits of foresight
and attention, and to check that propensity to present indulgence from which
so much misery arises to the lower orders. And in so doing it promotes,
more than any other species of property, the growth of those dispositions and
habits which restrain the operation of the principle of population.

“ The great difference between the effects of property in land and in money
upon the human character, consists in the superior facility of dissipation which
the latter possesses. The proprietor of a field cannot convert it into money,
or render it the means of indulging individual gratification, without disposing
of it to a purchaser, or burdening it with debt. But either of these is a great
and decisive step, sometimes drawing after it a change of residence, an alter-
ation of employment, and probably the sacrifice of habits and feelings of attach-
ment. Men pause before they take so serious a step, or indulge in the habits
likely to render it necessary. But the case is totally different with the possessor
of a sum of money: it melts away insensibly with the indulgence of tastes for
dissipation, and can be entirely spent without involving a change of home, a
sacrifice of affection, or alteration of employment. Every person must have
felt himself, or witnessed in others, the great difference between the facility with
which an individual in the higher ranks draws on a bank or spends money in
his possession, and disposes of his estate, or sells out of the funds; and hence
the importance which the friends of every man of improvident habits attach
to getting part of his professional earnings invested in land, or a house, or some
other permanent object. The same principles operate with still greater force
upon the poor, in whom habits of foresight are much slighter, and the desire
of momentary gratification much stronger, than in their superiors; and hence
the value of encouraging these habits, and counterbalancing these desires, by the
strong feeling of attachment to home and landed property which is equally
powerful in all mankind.”

On the latter paragraph we find the following judicious observations in the
Quarterly Journal of Agriculture :—“ The great national evils, therefore, re-
sulting from a manufacturing state will be found to originate in the carelessness,
recklessness, and profligacy which it is invariably apt to engender, and which
naturally arises from an unnatural concourse of persons, and the contagious
nature of vice among the poor. Manufacturing labourers thus often grow up
without any settled habits or permanent objects, squandering their earnings in
prosperity, and sufferig in periods of adversity all the miseries of improvi-
dence. The only cure for this malady of the mind is the creation of something
to make it worth while to resist present indulgence; and none seems equal in
efficacy to the prospect or the power of obtaining property in land. It is con-
fessedly nearly impossible to prevent the bad effects resulting from the varied
intercourse and crowded population of commercial cities ; but much may be
done and has been done, as in Yorkshire, Westmoreland, Flanders, and Swit-
zerland, where manufactures are established in the country, by distributing
small portions of land, and exciting the desire of purchasing them among the
labouring poor, to a degree that may increase their activity and industry in
their several employments, and render them at the same time more virtuous,
orderly, and provident.” (Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, December, 1840.)

296 Gardening Visit to Paris,

such trees can be seen. ‘The reason is, large trees do not pay
so well as small ones; because, to become large they require to
stand many years, and the older they are the slower is their
increase. In France, woods and plantations are made and ma-
naged entirely with a view to profit; and the most common
source of this profit being fuel, the trees are cut down when their
stems have acquired a diameter of 5 or 6 inches, or less. The
timber of construction is for the most part grown on better soils
than the high grounds which border the river. In England,
wood is seldom or never grown for fuel, and the timber for con-
struction is for the.most part imported. Hence trees are grown
and preserved, by the possessors of estates, more as objects of
luxury than of profit. Hence, the wonderful difference between the
banks of the Wye, and other well known rivers in England, and
those of the Seine, and other rivers in France, which possess equal
geological advantages. A principal source of the variety and
beauty of the banks of the Seine depends on the Lombardy pop-
lars, which are sprinkled along its banks, more or less, during the
whole course of its length. ‘These contrast with the round bare
hills and tame coppices, and enrich their appearance at the same
time. ‘The worst feature on the banks of the Seine is the poor
appearance of the corn crops, owing to the soil not being stirred
to a sufficient depth. By this change alone, we should think,
the produce might be trebled ; independently of the additional
produce that would be derived from an increased supply of ma-
nure, and greater attention to destroying weeds. It is singular,
that though the French country labourer is fully aware of the ad-
vantages of deeply stirring the soil to vines, and keeping it clear
of weeds, he seems to think it of no importance to corn crops.*
Several interesting villas are passed between Rouen and Pecaq,
which we should have been glad to examine in detail. The
principal are Rosny, which belonged to the Duchesse de Berri;
and Chateau Lafitte, which before the revolution belonged to
Charles X. when Monsieur, and is now on sale. ‘There are a
number of small villas, many of them pleasingly situated ; some
surrounded by walled gardens, trelliswork covered with vines,
and verdant arcades, and one or two accompanied by terraces ;
but scarcely any one conveyed the idea to us of cultivated taste.
The facilities for artistical creations are so great, however, from
the variety of surface, the windings of the river, and the
abundance of building material, that, at no distant time, the

* By a passage in Gérardin’s work, De ?’Instruction Publique en France,
quoted im the Quarterly Review for December, 1840, it appears that the pro-
duce of land under husbandry in England, compared with that similarly occupied
in France, is as 722 to 200. The English Agricultural Society will soon show
how the present produce of farm lands in England, great as it is beyond that
of France, may be doubled, or even trebled.

Jrom June 28. to August 16. 1840. 297

banks of this river must teem with architectural and picturesque
beauty.

The steam-boats, with their large paddle-wheels, create such
immense waves, that they are undermining the banks wherever
these are broken or perpendicular; and it is also said that they
are destroying the fish, by disturbing the spawn which is depo-
sited among the weeds, or in the sand in the shallow margins of
those parts where the stream is broad and sluggish. ‘These un-
doubted evils render it very desirable to introduce the mode of
propulsion by a horizontal screw or by a horizontal pump, one or
both of which substitutes for paddles will probably very shortly
be attempted. From Pecq we went to Paris by the railroad.

Paris. — July 9—29. Much gratified with the order and
high keeping of the gardens of the Palais Royal, and rather
disappointed in those of the Tuileries; the latter having but few
flowers, and those badly placed, with numerous blanks. The
gardens at Monceaux suffering from drought, and the turf quite
brown, partly from the dryness of the soil, but principally from
the coarse kind of grasses of which it is composed, and from
these grasses having been allowed to become so tall as to be fit
for hay before they were mown, partly, also, from the exhaustion
of the soil. ‘The turf here might be rendered almost as green
as that of England, by trenching the soil and mixing it thoroughly
with loam, and by sowing it only with rye-grass and other suit-
able grasses, or with Bromus praténsis, and keeping it clear of
all broad-leaved plants. Even in the moist climate of England a
smooth dark green lawn could not be maintained on such a soil
as that at Monceaux, without either rendering it loamy by ad-
mixture, or invigorating the plants by frequent manuring. En-
riching very dry soils with manure not only renders the foliage
of a darker green, but, by rendering it of a firmer texture,
enables it better to withstand drought. Any one may be con-
vinced of this by observing the appearance of dry upland pas-
tures in the driest seasons. One of the most.striking proofs that
we know of is the difference in the effect produced by extreme
drought on the grass in the Hyde Park since it was top-dressed.
Formerly the grass was burnt up almost every summer; at
present the surface in the most sandy parts is rendered brown
in the hottest weather, but the roots escape uninjured and
resume their green colour with the first rains. We would there-
fore recommend all lawns on very dry sandy soils to be manured,
or the soil to be mixed with loam, so as to render it retentive
of moisture. ‘There is an old hothouse in the walled garden
here, which was erected by Mr. Blaikie between 1770 and 1780;
it was sold during the first revolution, but bought in again after
the restoration, and is still in tolerable: repair. The panes of
glass are about 1 ft. in width, with a curved lap; which lap is,

298 Gardening Visit to Paris,

in all probability, a French invention, rendered advisable by the
great width of the panes. Spiraea Filipéndula rubra, not yet, we
believe, in British gardens, is now in flower for the first time.
M. Schoene, the head gardener, is uncertain of the origin of this
variety, which he procured some years ago from M. Cels.
Tyehnis falgens, Matricaria Mandiana, and a purple Délichos,
were also in great variety. ‘The rose Noisette Desprez now
makes a fine display. <A fence of trelliswork, formed of young
chestnut, with oak posts, and not painted, is found to last from
twelve to fifteen years; the laths are placed at 9 in. apart, and
tied to three horizontal rails by iron wire. It forms a very neat
fence, and is much used in the gardens
and pleasure-grounds about Paris, and
even as a fence to the railroads. The \
chestnut used is that of young trees from \
6 in. to 1 ft. in diameter, and it is never WN
painted. M. Schoene tried the effect of
paint, and found that it rendered the
laths less durable, probably by enclosing
the moisture. The bottoms of the seats
in the pleasure-ground here are formed
of two boards inclined to each other, and
about 1 in. apart, as in fig. 46., the ob-
ject being to allow the immediate escape

of the rain. A _ riding-house has re-_ | N
cently been built here, 158 ft. French Tin 46 Gian Charen
long, and 58 ft. wide, which is supposed Monceauw.

to be the largest in Europe, except that of Moscow, of which a
section is given in the Hncyclopedia of Cottage Architecture.

The Villa of Baron Rothschild, at Surenne, is, perhaps, the
best laid out and the best kept in the neighbourhood of Paris.
Its extent may be 15 or 20 acres, on a surface originally flat;
but it has been hollowed out in some places, and raised in others,
under the direction of the architect, Beranger, so as to exhibit
some variety. ‘The house is small, and, in point of architecture,
is without merit. ‘The kitchen-garden is large, and contains a
range of 600 ft. of hothouses, and about as many feet in length
of frames and pits. Every luxury that a kitchen-garden can
produce is raised in quantities, in season and out of season. An
ornamental garden building contains a beautiful steam-engine,
the machinery of which is seen at work through its large
windows, pumping up the water to an elevated reservoir, whence
not only the house and various fountains and cisterns are sup-
plied, but also a system of pipes under all the lawns, with cocks
at regular distances, to which leather pipes can be screwed on,
and the surface watered with rapidity and ease. In some cases
these pipes are laid along the upper edge of sloping banks, con-
cealed by the grass; and, being pierced with holes, from these

from June 28. to August 16. 1840 299

the water, when turned on, issues as an inverted shower, rising
to the height of several feet, and running down the slope, so as to

water the whole of it, he contriver of this arrangement, and
the proprietor who incurred the expense, deserve alike to be
commended. Notwithstanding this extraordinary care, the lawn
is far from having the smooth dark velvety green which cha-
racterises those of England, doubtless from the coarse kinds of
grass of which it is composed, and from the very sandy soil and
want of manure. A mixture of clay, or of clayey loam, to the
depth of 6 in., sown with the common lawn mixture of grasses
sold by the seedsmen, or with Bromus praténsis alone, would
have produced a very different surface.

The profusion of flowers distributed over the whole of this
villa differs widely from any thing we have ever seen in England
or elsewhere. Pots of geraniums are placed all along the boundary
wall, next the public road, at regular distances; on the piers of
the entrance gates; and in vases, at regular distances, on the
parapet of both fronts of the house. ‘The entrance lodge is
ornamented with them, as is the ground all round the mansion,
for several feet in width. But this is not all: the clumps and
groups and belts throughout the grounds are bosomed up with
scarlet geraniums and purple and white petunias; so that, in
short, whichever way we turn we are met by masses of these
flowers; by floricultural wealth in excess, with no more taste
than a child would display in ornamenting a baby-house. What
is it that prevents us from considering this profusion of flowers as
in good taste? Is it merely that we are not accustomed to it in
England, or is there any cause in the nature of things for this
feeling in our mind? We think there is. ‘Trees and lawns dis-
tributed after the manner of nature are meant to imitate nature:
and though this imitation, to be artistical, ought to be, as much
as possible, in a different material from what Nature herself uses
in the given locality (that is, exotic trees, shrubs, and flowers
should be used instead of indigenous ones); yet, it is not an
imitation of nature fit for our climate, to associate plants which
every one knows require to be grown under glass, with trees
and shrubs which endure the open air; or to place plants in
pots above the ground among plants which grow in the free
soil, and which, by their shade and the nourishment drawn from
the soil by their roots, would never permit the free growth of
such plants. It would appear, then, that this mode of displaying
flowers which require to be cultivated in the greenhouse, in such
profusion in the margin of clumps, displeases, because it is not
a true imitation of ag enn ¢ ; it being conceded that the imitation
of nature is the object of this particular style of landscape-
gardening. ‘Two other objections might be made; one is, that
what is an ornament, and, like all ornaments, ought to be used
sparingly, is here rendered common ; and the other is, that the

300 Gardening Visit to Paris,

beauty arising from plain unornamented parts of the grounds, as
contrasted with highly enriched parts, is destroyed.

It may be asked if this mode of placing plants in pots round
the roots of trees, and in the margins of masses, would be in
better taste when applied to grounds laid out in the geometrical
style than to those in the natural style. To this we answer no;
because it is not the style alone which renders them objectionable,
but the nature of the plants. It is the incongruous association
of the natives of opposite climates which is so offensive ; and it 1s
also the placing of plants in a natural-looking situation which yet
is not true to nature. By this we mean placing them at the roots
of trees, under the shade of their branches ; which, to a certain
extent, appears a natural position, because we know that plants
grow on the ground, and often near or under trees; but then
we know, also, that they never could thrive so well under the
shade of trees, as those which we see placed there in this and
other French gardens. Plants placed in vases on the tops of
houses, it may be said, are in a still more unnatural situation.
Granted; but in placing them in that situation there is no in-
tention to deceive. We know at once that they have been
raised elsewhere; that they have been placed there by the
gardener, and that the situation is such, that, to keep the plants
alive and healthy, his constant attention is requisite.

One great object in laying out and managing a country seat
in England is, to produce and maintain an appearance of quiet
and seclusion ; but the continual recurrence of forced flowers in
pots, and the number of sanded paths seen at one time in most
of the suburban villas of Paris, remind one of the town more
than of the country. Even the raking of the gravel or the sand
of the walks, so common in France and also in Scotland, has a
bad effect with reference to seclusion ; and, in our opinion, ought
no more to be permitted than the paring of the grass verges, so
common in England. In the farm and the kitchen-garden all
may be bustle and activity, for these are requisite to the carrying
on of cultivation: but in the flower-garden and the pleasure-
ground all ought to be quiet and solitude; for by these means
only can that contrast be produced to a town residence, which
is calculated to insure the repose sought by a citizen in the
country; or, at all events, which will be sought by him who has
a just sense of the kind of enjoyments which ought to be found
in every suburban villa.

After all, perhaps, we shall not easily persuade the majority of
our readers that it is possible to have too many flowers in their
gardens ; and therefore we shall merely put our objections to
the display so common in what are reckoned the best Paris
gardens to the account of our particular taste. We could em-
ploy at Surenne legitimately all the flowers which we saw there;

Jrom June 28. to August 16. 1840. 301

that is, in a flower-garden by themselves, either in mixed beds
or borders, or in symmetrical or picturesque figures with one
kind in each figure; and by this means we would preserve an
allusion to simple rural nature in some parts of the scenery,
and create the richest artificial scenes in others.

The groups of trees and shrubs here are so very closely
planted, that the plants are drawn up with naked stems, and are
already becoming unsightly. ‘The appearance in winter, when
they are without foliage, of masses of naked rods must be any
thing but agreeable. To make the most of these masses, they
should have been planted much thinner, and consisted of a much
greater number of kinds, both of trees and shrubs, and especially
of evergreens.

Bellevue, near Sévres, the villa of M. Oudier, was laid out for
some mistress of the royal family, before the first revolution; the
gardener could not recollect the name. It contains two or three
acres of ground, considerably varied, with a piece of water judi-
ciously placed, rockwork, and some garden buildings in the style
of the Petit Trianon. Among the trees are almost the only spe-
cimens of Quércus pedunculata that we saw in the neighbour-
hood of Paris. In the stove and greenhouse are some rare
plants, recently brought from London and Belgium, and a toler-
able collection of Cacti. In the open garden there are many
dahlias, and a number of seedlings of Salvia patens, 4 ft. high,
and beautifully in flower. ‘The same fault is committed here as
at Surenne, viz., the distribution of flowers all over the place.
The lawn is watered by a portable forcing-pump, to which a
leather hose, pierced with holes, and terminating in a copper
rose, is attached. ‘The gardener considers that he can do more
work with the common watering-pot.

Belleville, at Meudon, the villa of Madame Gabrielle Oudier, is
of greater extent than Bellevue, and it has a magnificent pro-
spect, with Paris in the distance; but it has the same fault, of
being rendered monotonous about the house by borders of
flowers along the carriage road, as well as on the garden front.

The Chateau de Meudon is a small royal palace destined for
the children of the crown, and occupied during the latter period
of Napoleon’s reign by his son. The view from the terrace over
Paris, and to the wood of St. Cloud on the right, far surpasses
any thing of the kind in the neighbourhood of Paris. There is
scarcely any flower-garden, but there is an extensive natural
wood of Quércus sessiliflora, pierced with narrow shady alleys in
all directions, with some broad open avenues. Along one of
these has been a hedge of spruce fir, which has been thinned
out, and plants left at regular distances to take the form of trees;
these have all shot out several leaders at the same height from
the ground, and have now rather a singular appearance, which

302 Sowing Seeds in Snow.

may be compared to branched candlesticks. ‘The orangery is
an immense vaulted apartment under the terrace, in the manner
of that at Versailles; and, like it, it preserves the orange trees
through the winter without the aid of artificial heat. In front of
the orangery is the forcing-ground, in which ananas are grown,
as far as we were able to judge, as large as in England, more
economically, and as rapidly. In summer they are grown on
dung beds, in the open garden, in the rudest description of un-
painted boarded frames, as at Versailles. The gardener, M.
Gabriel, has raised an immense number of seedling ananas from
seeds, chiefly of the Enville, ripened here; some with leaves per-
fectly smooth and dark green, others very prickly, some broad,
others narrow, &c.; in short, if he chooses, he may pick out
twenty or thirty very distinct varieties. An account of M. Ga-
briel’s mode of cultivating the anana was given, in 1836, in the
Annales d’ Horticulture de Paris, vol. xix. p. 297., by M. Poiteau,
which we have already noticed. ‘There is a pit here, as at Ver-
sailles, entirely devoted to the culture of dwarf musas; and of
these M. Gabriel possesses a plant the leaves-of which are
blotched, he says, permanently, with a rich velvety dark brown.
This appearance is common in plants which are quite young, but
it disappears when they grow 3 or 4 feet high; in M. Gabriel’s

plant, however, it remains..
(To be continued.)

Art. II. On Sowing Seeds in Snow. By M. Lucas.
(From the Garten Zeitung for April 17. 1841.)

For five years past I have been very successful in sowing seeds
in snow that are considered difficult to germinate ; such as the
following alpine plants: Gentidna, Raninculus, Anemone, &c.,
and in this manner I raised several hundred young gentianas
in Messrs. Hague’s establishment at Erfurt. In our gardens
in the North of Germany, it is a well known practice to sow the
Auricula in snow, and this spring the idea struck me of making
the same trial with exotic seeds, which are generally more dif-
ficult to germinate; I therefore sowed a few of the seeds of
New Holland plants, principally of the Papilionaceous and
Mimosa kinds, also Hrica, Rhodoraceze, Cacti, Cucurbitacez,
&c. &c., all of the most distinct families. I filled the pots with
earth the most suitable to each kind of plant ; I then put a layer
of snow, then the seed, and covered it with another layer of
snow. I set them in a box covered with glass, and placed it in
one of the houses at a temperature of from 12° to 15° Reaumur
(59° to 60° Fahr.), in which the snow melted. I was not deceived
in my expectations ; some acacias, such as 4. subceerulea and A.
Cunningham?, and several mammillarias, such as M. uncinata,

Sowing Seeds in Snow. 303

germinated in the course of two days. These seeds not only
germinated well, but in rapidity surpassed my expectations ; and
I even succeeded in raising Crotalaria purpurea in this manner,
which I had never been able to do before by any other method.

When the snow had melted on the latter, I did not cover the
seed with a little sandy earth as I had done with the others, but
waited till the germ had fairly made its appearance, when I
put the sand on; and, from the success of both, I consider the
practice is established as generally useful. When newly fallen
snow is not to be had, that which is frozen in ice-cellars, and
easily preserved till the month of June, will do equally well.

Besides the very interesting process of the germination of the
seeds by this method, a number of obstacles are avoided, which
have frequently a bad effect on germination. Such as, for
instance, a thick putrid substance, which exudes from many
seeds, and particularly from those of the Leguminose; and
which, when in the earth and totally excluded from the air, has
a very injurious reaction on the unfolding of the gérm, but when
in the free open air it is found to be uninjurious.

Professor J. Liebig of Giessen sent me a few days ago his
opinion of my practice in the following words : — “ It appears
to me that the loose formation of the snow, which allows of an
uninterrupted admission of oxygen; the exclusion of those foreign
agents which are always found in a soil that contains corrupted
vegetable matter ; and, finally, the volatile alkali of the snow —
all these causes combined effect the remarkable appearance of
germination in this process.” The reason why Rhodoracez must
be sown on the ground without any covering, if you wish the
seeds to germinate at all, seems to me to be found in the free
influence of the air, and also in the exclusion of the carbonic
acid during the first period of vegetation.

M. Lucas, an apothecary in Arnstadt, who is also a physi-
ologist and most intelligent friend of gardening, some weeks ago
sent me his opinion of my method of sowing seeds in snow, and
he thinks that germination by this process is founded on the fol-
lowing principles : —

1. When the seed is in the snow, the temperature cannot be
far from the freezing point, as long as there is snow there; the —
melted snow, provided it is not warm, does not draw any matter
from the seed which is necessary for its vitality, therefore it
remains the same. 2. The melted snow only moistens the sur-
face of the seed without submerging it, and easily penetrates the
cells of the seeds by means of the capillary tubes, from which
the air must escape. If the seed is too moist, the excess of
fluidity does not produce a proportionate softness of the seed,
as the air that is contained in the seed cannot so easily escape
to give place to the moisture. 8. Snow water contains a great

1841,— VI..3d Ser. x

304 Continuation of Lucas’s Experiments

deal of oxygen, which facilitates germination, and which can
immediately penetrate the seed. 4, Snow being a loose cover-
ing and a porous body, does not prevent the admission of air to
the seed, and is, therefore, a powerful agent in promoting ger-
mination.

I need hardly mention that as there is a powerful excitement
of the vital principal of the seed, a temperature of at least
12° Reaumur (59° Fahr.), even for alpine plants, is absolutely
necessary; because, if the seed is in a colder temperature, it
will not germinate, but on the contrary will ferment, and the
snow water will penetrate into the seed and swell it out to double
the size.

[Further results will be given in a future Number.]

Art. III. Continuation of the Experiments of the Effects of Char-
coal on Vegetation, made in the Royal Botanic Garden of Munich.
By M. Epwarp Lucas, formerly in the Munich Botanic Garden,
and now Botanic Gardener at Ratisbon.

(From the Garten Zeitung for 1841, p. 25.)

EncoursGep by the universal interest which the application of
charcoal in the cultivation of plants has awakened, I venture to
lay before the reader the result of continued observations and
experiments. ‘This subject excited much curiosity in the course
of the year; mention was made of it in a great number of papers,
and experiments set on foot in many gardens of which I was an
eye-witness. Success did not always equal the expectations
formed of it; a circumstance, however, which is no disparage-
ment to the efficacy of charcoal; for, in every case, either the
manner of applying it, or the quality of the charcoal itself, was
the cause of failure. In consequence of this, charcoal lost its
repute in many gardens, while in others, where at first no ex-
periments succeeded, it is, by persevering in the treatment, now
applied to most sorts of plants. By some I was not sufficiently
understood, particularly in my remarks on the moisture neces-
sary for the charcoal, and hence the complaint that every thing
damped off. I confess that I have spoken too loosely on this
head, and, perhaps, have said too much; as in many cases, and
particularly when used in pots, as soon as the capillary fibres of
the charcoal are full, a superfluity of water would be useless or
even injurious to the plants; when mixed with the soil, however,
it requires more frequent watering than would otherwise be
necessary. The chief cause of failure arose from having the
charcoal too finely pulverised ; by which its chief properties, ca-
pillarity, capability of condensing gases, and porosity, were lost.
I was also reproached with having brought forward so old a
subject; to this I reply that to me and to most lovers of plants

on the Effects of Charcoal on Vegetation. 305

it was certainly new: but I quote in proof of that assertion a
passage from Schrank’s Natural History of Plants, to which my
attention has been called: ‘ Senebier found that leaves in car-
bonated water, or when mixed with tincture of gall-nuts, vegetate
longer and better than when in common water. He also found
that leaves which, when exposed to the sun in water, had ceased
to develope oxygen, did so again, as soon as carbonate was added
to the water. In some parts of Sweden the barley-fields were
manured with charcoal, and the crop was twenty times more
abundant. Rafn found that the different sorts of corn grew
best in the sorts of earth in which charcoal predominated.”
Leuch’s Vollstandiger Diingerlehre, ii. 1832, p. 310. to 313. and
p- 541. to 550., is said, according to the Allgemeinen Anzeiger
der Deutschen, to contain cbservations on charcoal; but I have
not been able to get a sight of this book.

During the last year many interesting cuttings of plants rcoted
in pure charcoal, some of them very difficult sorts to root, of
which the following are examples: Dodone’a humilis, Corrae‘a
alba, C. rufa, Magnolze purpurea, M. glatca, M. humilis, M.
fuscata, Myrtus moschata, Eutaxia Baxter7, E. myrtifolia, Cho-
rézema Manglész, Prunus Laurocérasus, Polygonum com-
pléxum, Halesza tetraptera, Witsénza corymbosa, Latrus Ben-
z0in, Polygala cordifolia, 7axus macrophylla, 7. baccata, Pinus
canadénsis, Andrew’sza glabra; several species of Melaleuca,
Diésma, Ph¥lica, Grevillea, Chironza; Azalea indica, &c., Erica
ignéscens, tendrils of Vitis vinifera, Nérium Oleander, &c. Also
of hothouse plants, Jacquinza arborea, J. mexicana, J. armillaris,
lex paraguaiénsis, £ acutangula, Malpighia Aquifolium, M.
glabra, M. coccifera, M. fuscata, Ardisia japonica, A. colorata,
Citrus buxifolia, C. Aurantium, C. Médica, Limonia trifoliata,
Guatacum sanitum, G. officinale, Franciscea Hoppedna, Bau-
hinza aculeata, Stifftza insignis, Illicium anisatum, I. floridanum,
Schotza speciosa, Comocladia integrifolia, Copaifera sp. Mexico,
Plumieérza lactea, P. angustifolia, Gmelina sinuata, Chitdnia
mexicana, Zadrus nitida, I’nga Sdman, Qudarea trichilidides,
Circas drastica, Dombéya acerifolia, Schrankza aculeata, Butt-
nera catalpefolia, Acacia tamariscina, Karwinskia glandulodsa,
Chamzedorea Schiedeadna, Bactris setosa, Carydta sobolifera,
Doryanthes excélsa, and others.

These examples may suffice; as they yield a sufficient proof
that plants of the most opposite families root in pure charcoal,
and mostly much better and easier than in sand or earth; and
there are many of the sorts above mentioned which heretofore
could not be successfully propagated in the Botanic Garden at
Munich.

The propagation of Cacti in charcoal, again, produced the

most favourable results. Most of the leaves and parts of
x 2

306 Continuation of Lucas’s Experiments

leaves which rooted in charcoal produced eyes in the course of
last summer, and in general not only one but several, from
which shoots sprang, which are now grown into strong plants.
As examples, I will only mention Vinca rosea, Vernonza tourne-
fortidddes, O’xalis Mandioccana, O. Barreliérz, Thunbérg7a alata,
Gondélobus mexicanus, Aristoléchia brasiliénsis, Huphorbza fas-
tudsa, Hugénia australis, Ipomee‘a supérba, Ardisia japonica,
Fachsza filgens, &c. A number of similar leaves that have
rooted have not as yet made shoots; they are, however, quite
fresh, and full of sap, and have an abundance of roots. In most
instances a protuberance was formed before the shoot was
formed, and in many the eyes were close to the surface of the
cut. The folioles of the Zamia imtegrifolia made three fleshy
roots nearly 1 ft. long, and we may confidently expect that
eyes will eventually be formed on them, though somewhat later.

Charcoal was not so much used for sowing seeds, but in cases
where it was applied it showed extraordinary power. Cu-
cumbers and melons, for example, germinated in it one day
earlier than those-sown in earth and plunged together with
them in warm beds, and were strong plants; while the plants
from the latter seeds continued stationary, though the treatment
was the same. :

Experiments were also made with a view to the application of —
charcoal in transmitting living plants; and for this purpose some
young chameedoreas, ferns, calceolarias, salvias, verbenas, and
young cabbage and cucumber plants, some with moss round the
ball of roots, others without any covering, were put in dry or
very slightly moistened charcoal, firmly pressed down, and the
closed box placed for four weeks in an airy shed, on which the
sun shone for several hours. At the expiration of this period
the palms and ferns were found in a very fresh state; the cal-
ceolarias and salvias had some yellow leaves, but had made
young shoots; a species of Petunia even flowered on the box
being. opened; the verbenas only had suffered, but were still
alive; the young cabbage and cucumber plants taken out of
dung-beds had rotted, but without injuring any of the plants
lying beside them. Cut flowers of many different sorts of plants
kept perfectly fresh and well in fme dry charcoal, for from eight
to fourteen days. Radishes, parsneps, onions, and the turnip-
like roots of O’xalis lasiandra Zucc., attained a considerable size
in a bed filled 1 ft. deep with pure charcoal; and also kohlrabi,
which was planted in it.

An interesting circumstance took place with the bulbs of
the Duc van Thol tulip, which had been forced. In the month
of May two bulbs of this species were put in the above-mentioned
bed, to see whether they would become sufficiently strong
during the summer to produce perfect flowers again next

on the Effects of Charcoal on Vegetation. 307

winter. -In the beginning of November, when the bed was
cleared out, both bulbs had produced large leaves 3 in. long,
and showed evident proofs of flowering. ‘They were put in pots
in pure charcoal, and as early as the middle of November per-
fectly formed flowers appeared. ‘There is no doubt, therefore,
that for other early forcing bulbs this method would also be
successful. In the same bed there was planted amongst others
a fully ‘grown scorzonera, which had been pulled up from a
bed, and had lost part of its spindle-shaped root; it grew very
well, and flowered.

Late in October, cuttings from very young shoots with flower-
buds were made from some fine dahlias, nine tenths of which
rooted in a short time. ‘They were put in charcoal in large
seed pans; at the bottom of the pans under the charcoal was one
third leaf mould.

Some trees, such as Prunus Padus, Cytisus Labirnum, Fraxi-
nus excélsior, Rosa centifolia, were, at the suggestion of Dr.
Zuccarini, who has always encouraged me in my experiments,
and taken the liveliest interest in them, taken up in their first
growth, almost all their absorbing roots cut off, and planted in
holes filled with charcoal. For some weeks they were quite
fresh, then the ashes and bird-cherries began to languish, and
the greater part of the leaves fell off; in the mean time the
second growth began, but somewhat later, and not so strong ;
the Cy¥tisus and the roses, on the contrary, continued to grow
well.

I enclosed in a box, filled with half peat-mould and half
charcoal, some plants of Daphne striata and D. Cneérum, which
I had brought from the Alps, to prepare for sending them off
afterwards. I succeeded in my object; these plants, which are
apt to have their roots injured by the most careful taking up,
and hence very seldom thrive with the usual method of cultiva-
tion and the mould used, had in a few weeks made new roots,
and began again to grow. ‘This treatment should always be
applied to plants like these which are difficult to root. Asa
mixture, I have always used charcoal ashes successfully for all
sorts of plants, and also seen it used in several other gardens ;
for example, for camellias, ericas, roses, pelargoniums, carna-
tions, dahlias, palms, ferns, &c. ; and I think that this use of it
will become more general in districts where clay or chalk pre-
dominates, and where the mould used for growing plants is more
compact than in sandy districts, and hence charcoal, as a means
of producing porosity, must have a very favourable effect on the
plants.

To prove if any difference existed with respect to the efficacy
of the charcoal of different sorts of wood, the garden inspector,

M. Seitz, had charcoal made from eight sorts of trees, viz. oaks,.
x 3

308 Dimensions and Details for Plant Structures,

limes, ashes, beeches, alders, willows, elms, and firs. ‘These
sorts of charcoal were kept separate, and placed in a warm bed
in a hothouse, to these a space filled with bone ashes was added.
Tn all the nine compartments leaves of the same plants were put:
the eight sorts of charcoal had almost exactly the same effects; if
there were any difference, I would give the preference to the fir
ashes. It was very different with the animal ashes: in this little
experiment they produced the most favourable results; many
leaves rooted in them which had not succeeded in the charcoal,
and some very soon produced shoots.

I cannot resist. saying a few words here, in conclusion of my
observations, on the bed formed in the new propagating-house
of the Royal Botanic Garden at Munich, built last summer.
The house is surk 4 ft. in the ground, is of an oblong form, and
faces the £. s.r. The surface of the bed within is half a foot
lower than the level of the garden, and is heated by a simple
walled flue, over which a copper pan the length of the bed is
placed, from which constant vapour arises, and which communi-
cates heat and moisture to the charcoal, with which the whole
bed is covered to the depth of 5 in., through perforated boards
lying over the pan. ‘The temperature of the water is, on an
average from 50° to 60° of Reaumur (145° to 167° Fahr.).
This sort of heating by water or steam is, in my opinion, the
best method for propagating plants; and it is to be hoped that
M. Seitz, from whose plan the house was built, will follow up
his intention of giving a full description of it. I plunged my
propagating-box, without a bottom, into this charcoal, and put
the better sort of cuttings, and those which are difficult to root,
in it. ‘The movable lights were generally taken off during the
night, and also sometimes in the day, that the moisture and
drops of water might run off and be dried up. I stuck her-
baceous cuttings in the bed without further preparation, and
almost all of them grew easily and quickly.

In compliance with the wishes of several of my friends and pa-
trons, I intend publishing in a small pamphlet all that has hitherto
been known on the efficacy of charcoal, and I have already been
promised communications on the subject from many quarters.

Art. IV. Dimensions and Details for erecting various Kinds of
Plant Structures to be heated by Hot Water or Smoke Flues, or
by both Modes combined. By Tuomas Torsron.

Tue kinds of plant structures which I am about to describe
have been found good in practice, both by my late father and
myself; and they were also approved of by the late eminent hor-
ticulturist Mr. Knight, with whom I had the honour to live as

to be heated by Hot Water, Smoke Flues, or both. 309

head gardener. I do not mean to say that hot water is not a
better mode of heating than smoke flues, but merely that ver
excellent crops have been, and still may be, raised by the latter
unfashionable mode of heating. I also think that, in many
cases, smoke flues may be more convenient, less expensive, and
more easily managed than the hot-water system. I consider
upright glass, whether in the front or ends, altogether unneces-
sary in forcing-houses, and that sufficient ventilation may be
given by moving the sashes of the roof; and these also allow of
access to the plants from the outside of the house when the
weather is suitable. ‘The details I have given will, I hope, be
understood by the practical gardener, as well as by the architect
and builder.

Cherry-house. Length 30 ft., width 16 ft.; height at back
12 ft., in front 5ft. ‘The trees may be planted in free soil, or
kept in pots ; in the latter case, they should be kept two years
in pots before being forced. If the trees are to be planted in
the soil, the front and end walls should be built on arches. A
flue should enter from a furnace from the back wall at one end,
and be conducted first along the front, and afterwards round
the back, with a chimney in the back wall over the furnace.
The rise from the bars of the grate to the floor of the flue
should be 18 in., and the flue should be 3 ft. from the walls all
round. No front or end glass, but a roof of movable sashes
and rafters; the sashes, in two lengths, to lap in the middle.
The top lights to be | in. wider than the lower ones; and the
lower ones to run up and down in a groove formed in the rafter
under the top light, so that the top and bottom lights may run
free of each other. The door, or doors, in the end, or ends.

Peach-house. Length 30 ft., width 12 ft.; height at back
9 ft., at front 2 ft. The front and end walls to be on arches.
The flue to be within 3 ft. of the front wall, and to be returned
close beside it, leaving a vacuity of 23 in. between. A trellis to
be fixed to the rafters 15 in. from the glass, and the trees to be
planted between the front wall and the flue. ‘The sashes as in
the cherry-house. The doors at each end, or one at the furnace
end. The rise from the furnace to the floor of the flue, and
the situation of the chimney-top, as in the cherry-house.

Vinery. Length 30 ft., width 14 ft.; height at back 9 ft., at
front 2 ft. [he end and front walls to be on arches, and the
whole to be heated by one fire. The furnace to have a door
1 ft. square, and the sides of the fuel-chamber to be of Welch
lumps; and the rise to the floor of the flue to be 18 in. as
before. The flue to run 2 ft. from the front wall, and to return
within 23 in. of the back wall. The flue to be 18 in. deep, with

the covers and bottoms of 1-foot tiles. Doors at each end, or at
x 4

510 Plant Structures to be heated by Hot Water, &c.

the fire end if but one door. Sashes and rafters as in the cherry-
house. ‘Trellis as in the peach-house.

A Propagating-Pit for Tanners Bark and a Flue. Length
30 ft., width 16 ft.; height at back 9 ft., at front 2 ft. Flue in
the front, and thence along the back, 3 ft. from the back wall,
and 23 in. from the front wall. Pit, between the flues, 10 ft.
wide, and 3 ft. deep. Walk, 3 ft. wide, between the back flue
and the back wall. Cavity between the flue and the front wall
and the walls of the pit, 24in. A door in one end, or in the
middle of the back wall, into a shed. For shading the plants,
and for retaining heat at night in severe weather, a canvass
might be arranged inside, so as to run from each end to the
middle, immediately under the roof. Sashes and rafters as in
the cherry-house.

A Propagating-Pit, without Tan, to be heated by a Smoke Flue
and Hot Water. Length 40 ft., width 14 ft.; height at back
8 ft., in front 2 ft. The furnace to have a boiler over it. The
smoke flue to run all round the pit, and the hot-water pipes to
be laid in gutters under the pit; means being provided to fill
the gutters with water, and to let it off into a drain at pleasure.
The pit over the pipes to be 8 ft. wide, and 15 in. deep, and to
be filled with sawdust, sand, ashes, or mould, into which to
plunge the pots, &c. A door through the back wall into a _
potting-shed.

A Pit for fruiting Pine-apples. Length 30 ft., width 16 ft. ;
height at back 7 ft. higher than the front, at front 23 ft. higher
than the pit. The pit to be level, 10 ft. wide, and 3 ft. deep if
for tan, but 4 ft. deep if for leaves. ‘The flue to go from the
furnace to the front, and all round the pit; to be covered with
1-foot tiles, with a cavity between it and the front wall and the
walls of the pit of 24in. A path of 3 ft. wide between the
back wall and the back flue; over which early grapes may be
produced by properly preparing the soil under the path, and
covering it with a trellis to prevent it from being trodden on and
soddened. Vines, cucumbers, kidneybeans, strawberries, &c.,
may be grown on shelves over the path, and also over the flues.
Sashes and rafters as in the cherry-house, and a boiler, if
desired, as in the preceding pit.

A Succession-Pit for Pine-apples may be, in all respects, similar
to the above; but 2 ft. narrower, and with the outer walls 18 in.
lower.

A Winter Cucumber-Pit. Length 30 ft, width 8 ft.; height at
back 7 ft., at front 4 ft. A flue to run first to the front, and
return under the back wall, with cavities of 24 in. The space
between the flues to have gutters for the pipes of a boiler, with
a power of filling and emptying the gutters at pleasure; so as to
have a command of either dry or moist air, as either may be -

- Draw-Hoe in Use in Leicestershire. | S11

wanted. The floor of the pit may be supported on arches, or it
may be made of planks, or of slates or tiles resting on joists.
The pit to be filled with mould, sand, or sawdust, according as
it may be desired to grow the plants in pots or in the free soil.
A trellis may be made to hook on the rafters, on which to train
the plants. The upper surface of the pit to be 2 ft. from the
glass.
Turnham Green, May 9. 1841.

Art. V. Notice of a Draw-Hoe in Use in Leicestershire. By M.
SMART.

Tuts hoe, which I have not seen described or figured in any of
your works, differs from all other hoes that I know of, in having
a movable blade, and in admitting of the use of blades of dif-
ferent sizes. It has also a crane neck, not unlike that of the
Spanish hoe, or of Mr. Ogle’s sickle-hoe, described and figured
in p. 258. The Leicestershire hoe, which, I think, may be
called the Shifting-blade Hoe, is shown in jig. 47.; in which d is
the head, consisting of a socket for

the blade, and a tubular socket or G
hose for the handle, without the d
blade; 6 one of the blades not inserted be oh
in the socket; c the socket with the

kind of blade inserted which is used
for general purposes, and more es-
pecially for hoeing between rows of j
wheat; and a a socket with the blade TAS. aN
6 inserted, which is used chiefly for Fig. 47. The Sliding Blade.
thinning turnips.

Fig. 48. is a section across the, socket, of the full size,
showing the slit in which the blade is inserted.

The iron sockets, including the hose for the handle, should
be about 14 in. long, with the crane neck bent about 3 in.; the
socket should be 4 in. in length and 1 in. in depth, with a slit or
cavity in the centre, 3 in. in depth and } in. in width, to admit
the blade. The under part of the socket, containing the
slit, should be made rather stronger than the upper part,
as shown in the section, fg. 48. ‘The neck, which joins the
socket to the hose, should be about % in. in diameter, in
order as little as possible to obstruct the view of the ope-
rator. ‘The blades are removed from the socket by a rap
or two on the back with a hammer or a stone; and they
are refixed in it by placing the edge of the blade on a piece \\
of wood, and giving a stroke on the back of the socket. Fis-48-
The cost of the hose and socket, in Leicestershire, is about ls. 6d.

312 New Method of forming living Arbours.

The blades are formed by cutting into different lengths the blade
of an old scythe, and unriveting the back-plate. ‘Three or four
hoe blades are obtained from one old scythe blade. The sockets
vary from 4 in. to 6 in. in length, and the breadth, as above stated,
is about 1in. ‘The most convenient-sized socket for wheat is
4in., with blades of from 4 in. to 6 in.; and for turnips 6 in., with
blades of 8 or 10 inches in length. For wheat-hoeing, the blades
should be a little narrower at the edge than at the back, as in
Jig. 47.c; and for turnip-hoeing, and especially when the turnips
are to be thinned, the blade should be widest at the edge, as in
Sig. 47. a.

The great fault of the common hoe is the thickness of its
blade, by which it is with difficulty forced into the soil suffi-
ciently deep to render the hoeing of much use; but with the
shifting-blade hoe, in consequence of the thinness of the blade,
and the material being steel, it requires no more force to stir
the soil to the depth of 3 or 4 inches, than it does to stir
it to the depth of 1 in. with the common hoe. In _hoeing
field turnips, you may send every man into the field in the
morning with five or six blades for his hoe in his pocket, each of
them as sharp as the blade of a scythe, and as thin; and these
he can change in succession as they become dull; and the next
morning he can sharpen the whole of them on the grinding-stone
in a few minutes. Every one who has had much practice in
turnip-hoeing knows how difficult it is to perform the work well
when the corners of his hoe are worn off; but with the shifting-
blade hoe, as soon as the corners get blunt, the blade can be
thrown away and replaced by another.

Bitteswell Hall, May 4. 1841.

[ We have sent one of these hoes to Messrs. Cottam and Hal-
len, Winsley Street, Oxford Street, who, if they should be asked
for them, will manufacture them for sale.— Cond.]

Art. VI. A new Method of forming Living Arbours. By W. P.

I sEND, for insertion in your Gardener’s Magazine, the following
account of a method of forming a living arbour or fence. It has
been spoken of, at various times, by Mr. D. Cooper, lecturer on
botany, but has never been noticed in any of the gardening peri-
odicals, that I am aware of.

To form an arbour, plant a weeping ash, the stem of which
should be several feet high, in any convenient spot; at the dis-
tance of 4 or 5 feet from it, according to the size you wish
to have the arbour, plant some of the common ash, at 6 or
8 inches’ distance from each other, leaving a space of 3 ft.
for the entrance; with every alternate plant slanting in an

Cacti at Hendon Vicarage. 313
_ opposite direction. By being brought together, they will now
be found to form diamond-shaped openings; at the intersections a
small piece of bark must be removed from each stem, and the stems
bound together, and clayed in the same manner as for grafting:
as the trees grow, they can be inarched to the pendulous branches
of the weeping ash. This will be found to form a very strong
living arbour; and by the same means a very strong and orna-
mental fence might be formed in a short time. I have no doubt
other trees will answer the same purpose, but the ash is the only
one I have seen tried. — April 16. 1841.

Art. VII. Catalogue of the Cacti in the Collection of the Rev. Theo-
dore Williams, at Hendon Vicarage, Middlesex. By GroRGE
LAWRENCE, Gardener there.

Tring PHYMATOCOTYLEDO'NEZ.

Genus I. ANHALO‘NIUM.
Syn. ARiI0CA’RPUS.

Form globular, top nearly flat or level. Tubercles formed of thick fleshy
leaves (perhaps more like those of an aloe than a cactus); broad at the
base, tapering to an acute, unarmed, and naked point ; the upper side nearly
flat, and the under side keeled. Plant glaucous, with white down between
the tubercles. Flowers and fruit said to resemble those of Mammillaria.

1 prismaticum. 2 in. high and 5 in.
in diameter. — Syn. Ariocarpus
retusa.

2 p.2majus. 2in. high, and 5 in.
in diameter.

Genus Il. MAMMILLA‘RIA.

Surface teated or tubercled. Flowers short, produced between the teats.
Berry long and pulpy, concealed in an envelope of down till the seed is
nearly matured, when it shoots forth, and presents itself to view.

Sect. I. Sera‘cex.— Species having bristles and spines.

7 Perote. 3in. high, and 33 in. in
diameter. — Syn. M. diacantha
nigra; M. Haagedna.

8 spherétricha. 3 in. high, an
34 in. in diameter.— Syn. M.
candida.

9 senilis Lodd. 3in. high, and 3in.
in diameter.

10 bicolor. 23 in. high, and 2 in. in
diameter. — Syn. M. gemini-
spina ; M. nivea var. minor.

Subsect. 1. LEUCOCE’PHALE. —
White-headed.

1 geminispina. 4 in. high, and 6 in.
in diameter; 3 heads.— Syn.
M. acanthophlégma; M. leu-
cocéphala ; Cactus columnaris.

2 élegans. 3in. high, and 5in. in
diameter ; 5 heads.

3 polycantha. 4in. high, and 4in.
in diameter.

4 tetracantha. 5 in. high, and 34 in.
in diameter,— Syn. M. super-
téxta.

5 Parkinsonz. 34 in. high, and 4 in.
in diameter.

6 lanifera. 4 in. high, and 24 in. in
diameter. — Syn. M. mona-
cantha.

+ 13 rosea.

11 b. var. monstrosa. 4:in, high, and
9in. in diameter.— Syn. M.
b. serpentina.

12 nivea. Sin. high, and 16in. in
diameter; 35 heads. — Syn.
M. Toaldoe.

241n. high, and 4 in. in

diameter; 3 heads.

314

14 discolor. ‘in. high, and 10 in.
in diameter; 50 heads. — Syn.
M. pulchélla; M. canéscens;
Cactus depréssa; C. pseudo-
mamunillaris.

Subsect. 2. CYLINDRICOTHE LE.—
Teats soft, long, and cylindrical, of
humble growth (Czespitose ).

15 Wildidna. 3in. high, and 42 in.
in diameter.— Syn. M. glo-
chidiata aurea.

16 ancistrata. 2in. high, and 2 in.
in diameter.

17 glochidiita. 5in. high, and 82 in.
in diameter.— Syn. M. ancis-
troides; M. cuneiférmis; and
M. crinita.

18 g. var. rosea, 21in. high, and
41 in. in diameter.

19 pusilla. 43in. high, and 82 in.
in diameter.— Syn. M. stel-
laris ; Cactus pusilla; C. stel-
lata; and C. stellaris.

20 vétula. 3in. high, and 5in. in
diameter.

21 Schiedeana.
in diameter.

lin, high, and 2in.

Subsect. 3. Rusici’p1rEs.—Reddish

tops.
22 ignota. 4 in. high, and Sin. in
diameter.
23 rificeps. 5in. high, and 6 in. in

diameter.

24 columnardides. 12 in. high, and

Sect. IT.

Subsect. 1. Muttispr’Nem.— Teats
faintly angled ; spines many.

38 coronaria. 18 in. high, and 4in.
in diameter. — Syn. Cactus
coronata ; C. cylindrica.

39 hamata. 11 in. high, and 4 in. in
diameter. — Syn. Melocactus
mammillarizeformis.

40 nivosa. 6 in. high, and 32in. in di-
ameter. — Syn. M. tortolénsis.

41 simplex. 5in. high, and 4in. in
diameter.— Syn. Cactus mam-
millaris.

42 s. var. parvimamma. 22 in. high,
and 31 in. in diameter. — Syn.
M. prolifera ; Cactus prolifera ;
C. microthele.

~ Catalogue of the Cacti

3in. in diameter. — Syn. M.
setosa.

Subsect. 4. Fuavici/pires. — Yel-
lowish tops.

25 rutila. 22in. high, and 21in. m
diameter. — Syn. M. Eugénia.

26 tentaculata. 5 in. high, and 42 in.
in diameter.— Syn. M. pdl-
chra; M. olivacea.

27 hystricina. 4 in. high, and 53 in,
‘in diameter.

28 eriacantha. 10in. high, and
21 in. in diameter.— Syn. M.
cylindrica.

29 rhoddntha. 4 in. high, and 3i1in.
in diameter. — Syn. M. atrata-
aurata hybrida.

30 var. Aidree. 7 in. high, and
14in. in diameter; 27 heads.
— Syn. M. inincta.

31 var. neglécta. 32in. high, and
32 in. in diameter.

32 flavéscens. 9 in. high, and 10 in.
in diameter ; 4 heads. — Syn.
M. straminea; Cactus flavés-
cens.

33 atriceps. 6 in. high, and 8mm.
in diameter.

34 fuscata. 9 in. high, and 62 in. in
diameter.

35 chrysacantha. 44 im. high, and
52 in, in diameter.

36 aurata. 5in. high, and 6in. in
diameter.

37 a. var. minor. 42in. high, and
5 in. in diameter.

Spi NEE. — Species having spines, but no bristles.

Subsect. 2. TrETRASPI’‘NEE. —
Spines few.

43 polythéle. 7in. high, and 32 in.
in diameter.

44 columnaris. 72in. high, and 3in.
in diameter.

45 quadrispina. 10in. high, and
42 in. in diameter. —

46 obconélla. 8in. high, and 42 in.
in diameter. — Syn. M. ob-
scura; M. dolichocéntra.

Subsect. 3. Potyr/DREE. — Tats,
most prismatic, all lactescent.
Sins
47 polyédra.
diameter.

Teats large.
4in. high, and 3in, in

at Hendon Vicarage, Middlesex.

48 subpolyédra. 8 in. high, and 4in.
in diameter.— Syn. M. poly-
gona; M.xalapénsis; M. anisa-
cantha.

49 anisacantha. 8 in. high, and 4 in.
in diameter.

50 Zuccariniana. 3in. high, and
4in. in diameter.— Syn. M.
macracantha.

51 Z. var. monstrosa.
and 5 in. long.

§ ii. eats smaller.

52 carnea. 3in. high, and 3 in. in
diameter.

53 Seitzidna. Ain. high, and 42 in.
in diameter.

54 uncinata. 4 in. high, and 42 in.

in diameter.

var. biuncinata. 3 in. high,
and 3 in. in diameter.

56 glomerata. 22 in. high, and 7 in.
in diameter.

57 hystrix. 5in. high, and 7 in. in
diameter.

58 leucotricha. 3 in. high, and 6 in.
in diameter.

59 leucocarpa. 8in. high, and 15 in.
in diameter; 2 heads.

60 xanthotricha. 2 in, high, and 4: in.
in diameter.

61 macrothele. 42in. high, and 5in.
in diameter. — Syn. M. co-
ndépsea.

62 deflexispina. 6 in. high, and 7 in.
in diameter.

63 Karwinskv. 4in. high, and 9 in.
in diameter ; 6 heads.

64 centrispina. 24 in. high, and 3Lin.
in diameter.

65 erugindsa. 4in. high, and 5 in.
in diameter.

66 diacantha. 4 in. high, and 42 in.
in diameter.

67 caput Medtse. 5in. high, and
13in. in diameter; 9 heads. —
Syn. M. sempervirens.

3 in. high,

55 u.

Teats more robust, and more

§ iii.
globular.

68 cirrhifera. 5in. high, and 8 in.
in diameter.

69 angularis. 42 in. high, and 22 in.
diameter.—Syn. M. compréssa.

70 subangularis. 42in. high, and
7in. in diameter. — Syn. M.
cirrhifera spinis fiscis. |

71, arietina. 5in. high, and 7 in.
in diameter.

315

72 magnimamma. 4in. high, and
3in. in diameter.— Syn. M.
ceratophora ; M. Schiededna.

73 éxsudans. 2in. high, and 2 in.
in diameter.— Syn. M. cur-
vata.

74 gladiata. 34in. high, and 34 in.
in diameter.

Subsect. 4. Tre’Nua#. — Teats short ;
columns cespitose, slender ; yellow
except the two last ones.

75 echinata. 6 in. high, and 7 in. in

diameter. — Syn. M. dénsa.,

76 elongata. 10in. high, and 22 in.
in diameter.

77 ténuis. 3in. high, and 7in. in
diameter.

78 t. var. média. 3in. high, and
12 in. in diameter.— Syn. M.
stélla aurata.

79 t. var. subcrocea.
4in. in diameter.

80 intertéxta. 3in. high, and 2 in.
in diameter.

81 sphacelata. 7 in. high, and 12 in.
in diameter.

82 gracilis. 23in. high, and 22 in.
in diameter.

3 in. high, and

Subsect. 5. Loneima’mmm.— Teats
long, soft, and cylindrical,

83 longimamma. 42in. high, and
7 in. in diameter.

84 1. var. congésta. 3in. high, and
4.in. in diameter.

85 uberiformis. 2 in, high, and 32 in.
in diameter.

86 u. var. decipiens. 3in. high, and
34 in. in diameter. — Syn. M.
inuncinata.

Subsect. 6. AuLAcoTHE‘L&.—Teats
large, lobed or channeled. Some,
and, perhaps all, large-flowered,
hke those of the Echinocacti.

§ i. Columnar. Teats long, chan-

neled.

87 Lehmanni. 14 in. high, and 5in.
in diameter.

88 clava. 10in. high, and 42 in. in
diameter.

89 rhaphidacantha. 6 in. high, and
24 in. in diameter.— Syn. M.
clavata.

90 ancistracantha, 7 in. high, and
24 in. in diameter.— Syn. M.
stipitata.

316

91 species nova ; white, numerous,
and straight spines. 5 in. high,
and 22 in. in diameter.

92 erécta. Qin. high, and 2in. in
diam. — Syn. M. evanéscens.

§ ii, Heads ovate or globular. Teats
ovate, compressed, channeled.

93 elephantidens. 3 in, high, and
21 in. in diameter.

94 recirva. 3in. high, and 22 in.
in diameter.

95 impexicoma. 33in. high, and

Catalogue of the Cacti

4in. in diameter.— Syn. M.
radians.

96 scepontocéntra. 3in. high, and
44 in. in diameter.

§ iti. eats most robust, shorter, and
broadly lobed.

97 latimamma. 3in. high, and 6 in.
in diameter.

98 pycnacéntha. 4 in. high, and
4.in. in diameter.

99 species nova. 3in. high, and
5in. in diameter.

Genus III. ECHINOCA’CTUS.

Surface angled or furrowed. Flowers short and broad, produced at the
fascicles of spines, generally at the umbilicus at the top of the plant.
Capsule dry, generally concealed in an especial envelope of down, or else in

the tomentum of the umbilicus.
to the fascicles.

Sect. I.

Scopm®.— Angles small and shallow.

Fascicles of spines downy ; down confined

Spines slender and numerous.

Fascicles small and prominent.

1 scOpa. J4in. high, and 4 in.
in diameter. — Syn. Céreus
scopa; Cactus scopa.

2 s. 2 candida. 8 in. high, and 2 in.
in diameter.

3 s. 3 cristata. 3in. high, and 3 in,
long. — Syn. E. scopa mon-
strosa.

4 pectinifera. 43 in. high, and 3in.

Sect. IT.

in diameter. — Syn. Echinocac-
tus pectinata; Echinocactus pec-
tinifera.
5 p. var. rubrospina. 22 in. high,
and 22 in. in diameter.
6 pumila. lin, high, and 1 in. in
diameter.
7 gracillima. 3in. high, and }in.
in diameter.

GiBBo's&.— Angles larger than those of the last section, formed of

-gibbous tubercles, conftuent at their bases, having an acute tubercle at the

bottom of each fascicle.

8 exscilpta. 62 in. high, and 22 in.
in diameter. — Syn. E. sub-

gibbosa; E. acanthion-inter-
rapta; E. crenata; Ceéreus
montevidénsis.

9. hybocéntra. 9 in. high, and 5 in.

in diameter.

10 ignota nova.
in diameter.

11 gibbosa. 3in. high, 4 in. diam.
— Syn.’ Céreus gibbosus.

12 g. var. nobilis. Zin. high, and
41 in. in diameter.

8in, high, and 5 in.

13 centetéria. 22 in. high, and 32 in.
im diameter.

14 ceratistes. 22in. high, and 3in.
in diameter.

15 pachycéntra. 22in. high, and
32 in. in diameter.

16 Montivillz. 22in. high, and 4in.
in diameter.

17 hyptiacantha. 22in. high, and
24 in. in diameter.

18 denudata. 22 in. high, and 32 in.
in diameter. — Syn. Echinops
denudatus.

Sect. III. Angles small, obtuse; having a teat, or prominence, between the
fascicles.
Subsect. 1. Mammuto'’sz. | 42 in. in diameter. — Syn. E.
19 mammulosa. 42 in, high, and hypocrateriformis,

at Hendon Vicarage, Middlesex.

20 m. var. cristata. 2in. high, 5 in.
long, and 22 in. in diameter.

21 submammulosa. 2in. high, and
4,in. in diameter.

Subsect. 2. Orronz’DEx.— Tuber-
cles more obtuse.
22 Ottonis. 6in. high, and 5 in.
in diameter. — Syn. Céreus
Ottonis.

Sect. IV. Erina‘cem.— Angles acute. Spines short.

23 QO. 2 tortudsa. 4in. high, and
5in. in diameter.— Syn. E.
muricata.

24 O.3tenuispina. 22 in. high, and
32 in. in diameter.

25 concinna. 12 in, high, and 22 in.
in diameter.

26 Link. 3in. high, and 32 in.
in diameter. — Syn. Céreus
Linki.

The upper fascicles

horizontal, and the lower ones inverted.

27 corynodes. 4 in. high, and 6 in.
in diameter.—Syn. E. acutan-
gula; E. rosacea var. Sellow-
tana.

28 acuata. 3 in. high, and 42 in.
in diameter. — Syn. E. Cou-
rant. :

29 a. var. spinior. 22 in. high, and
4.in. in diameter.

30 erinaceus. 5in. high, and 7 in.
in diameter.

31 Sellowedna. 4in. high, and 6 in.
in diameter.

32 sessiliflora. 3in. high, and 6 in.
in diameter.

33 s. var. tetracantha. 3 in. high,
and 5in. in diameter. — Syn.
E. tetracantha.

Sect. V. Angles few, and mostly robust.

Subsect. 1. Fas-

Angles obtuse.
cicles level.

34 horizonthalonia. 52 in. high, and
6in. in diameter.— Syn. E.
équitans.

35 rhedacantha.— Syn. E. coccinea,
Melocactus rhodacantha.

Subsect. 2. Angles more acute.
Fascicles teated.

36 ingens. 6in. high, and 5in. in
diameter. — Syn. Melocdctus
ingens.

Genus [V. ECHINOFOSSULOCA’CTUS.

Surface angled or furrowed. Flowers and fruit like those of Echinocdctus.
Fascicles of spmes downy: down extended above the fascicles in a straight
or cruciform channel; sometimes confluent, or else in a circular patch, from
which the flowers are produced invariably in the umbilicus.

Sect. I.

GLADIATO RES.— Angles numerous, dense, narrow, deep, and acute.

Generally one or more of the spines in each fascicle flat, or sword-like, and

erect.

Subsect. 1. Angles large.
1 coptonigona. 3 in. high, and 3in.
in diameter.
2c. var. major. 32in. high, and
54 in. in‘diameter. ,

Subsect. 2. Angles dense, anfrac-

tuous.
3 ensiférmis. 2in. high, and 3 in.
in diameter.
4 gladiata. 4:in. high, and 4 in. in
diameter.

5 crispata. 3 in. high, and 4 in. in
diameter.

6 obvallata. 3in. high, and 4 in.
in diameter.

7 anfractuosa.
in diameter.

8 phyllacantha. 22in. high, and
5 in. in diameter.

9 p. 2 macracantha. 3in. high,
and 32 in. in diameter.

10 p. 3 micracantha. 3in. high,
and 32 in. in diameter.

3in. high, and 4in.

318

Catalogue of the Cacti

Sect. Il. Latispi’Nex.— Globular. Spines broad and stout. Angles robust
and acute.

Subsect. 1. Central spine hooked

and broadest.

11 cornigera. 1 ft. high, and 13 in-
in diameter.

12 c.2 elatior. 11 ft. high, and 1 ft.
in diameter.

13 c. 3rtbro-spina. 5 in. high, and
7 in. in diameter.

14 c. 4 angustispina. 10 in. high,
and 10 in. in diameter. — Syn.
E. stellaris.

15 spiralis. 42 in. high, and 6 in. in

Sect. III. Angles robust, acute.

Subsect. 1. Fascicles level.

18 platyceras. 1 ft. high, and 13 ft.
in diameter. — Syn. ? E. ma-
crodisca.

19 Vanderaéy7. 11 ft. high, and
1 ft. 10 in. in diameter.

20 V. var. ignota longispina. 1 ft.
high, and 14 ft. in diameter.

21 Karwinskiena. 6 in. high, and
9 in. in diameter.

22 macracanthus. 13 ft. high, and
2 ft. in diameter.

23 echidne. 9 in. high, and 6 in. in
diameter.

24 heléphora. 11 in. high, and 11 ft.
in diameter. — Syn. E. irrorata.

25 h. var. longifossulata. 1 ft. high,
and 12 ft. in diameter.

26 Mirbeli#. 9 in. high, and 8 in. in
diameter. — Syn. E. holdptera.

27 Harris. 8 in. high, and 11 in. in
diameter.

diameter. — Syn. E. robusta ;
Melocactus Bésler? affinis ag-
glomerata.

Subsect. 2. Spies more equal m
size, narrower, much depressed.

16 recirva. 52in. high, and 10in.
in diameter.— Syn. E. glatca;
Cactus rectrva; C. ndbilis; C.
multangula.

17 r. campylacantha. 52in. high,
and 11 in. in diameter.

Spines round or angled.

Subsect. 2. Fascicles prominent, and

teated.

§ i. Fascicles prominent

28 oxyptera. 6in. high, and 8 in. in
diameter.

29 ignota venosa. 4 in. high, and
7 in. in diameter.

30 robusta. 5 in. high, and 5 in. in
diameter. — Syn. E. spectabilis ;
EK. subulifera.

0 ii. Fascicles teated.

31 Pfeiffer. 43 in. high, and 5% in.
in diameter.

32 holdéptera. 4 in. high, and 5 in.
in diameter.— Syn. E. spiralis.

33 hexaedréphora. 3 in. high, and

4 in. in diameter.

34 turbiniférmis. 3 in. high, and 4 in.
in diameter.

35 species nova. 3in, high, and 3 in.
in diameter,

Genus V. ECHINONYCTA’/NTHUS.
Syn. Gitope Cereus, or EcuIno’Psis.

Form globular, rarely columnar.

Surface angled or furrowed. Flowers long

and tube-like, produced at the top and also at the sides of the plants,

generally nocturnal.

Sect. I.
1 Eyriés#, 8 in high, and 7 in. in di-
ameter. — Syn. Céreus Eyriési.
2 E. var. glaticus. 8 in. high, and
7 in. in diameter.
3 Schelhasz. 6 in. high, 63 in. diam.
— Syn. Echindpsis Boutilliérz.
4 oxygonus. 44 in. high, and 5 in.
in diameter. — Syn, Echindpsis
oxygonus.

Berry \arge and ovate, naked.

Micraca’NTHA.— Spines short.

5 turbinatus. 10in. high, and 5 in.
in diameter. — Syn. Ceéreus ge-
minatus ; C. jasmineus; Echino-
cactus turbinata; E. sulcata.

6 sulcatus. 14 ft. high, dividing into
two main branches, with four
heads, each 4 im. in diameter,
making 13 ft. in diameter in full,
— Syn. Echinocactus decora,

at Hendon Vicarage, Middlesex. 319

Sect. I. Macraca’nrum. — Spines long.

7 multiplex. 11 in. high, and 7 in.

diam. — Syn. Céreus multiplex.

8 m. monstrosus. 2 in. high, and
23 in. in diameter.

9 tubiflorus. 8 in. high, and 6 in. in

diameter. — Syn. Céreus tubi-

florus; Echinonyc. Zuccarinz.

Genus VI.

form globular. Surface angled or furrowed.

10 leucanthus. 7 in. high, and 7 in.
in diameter. — Syn. Céreus leu-
canthus ; C. incurvispinus; Me-
locactus ambigua; M. élegans ;
E. campylacanthus.

11 formosus. 6 in. high, and 63% in.
in diameter. — Syn. E. Guilliész.

MELOCA’CTUS.

Flowers produced on a bristly

and downy cap at the top of the plant, smaller than those of any other

section.

of Mammillaria.

1 communis. 14ft. high, and 1 ft. in

diameter. — Syn. Cactus Melo-

cactus; C. coronata.

cénica. 124 ft. high, and 1 ft. in

diameter. — M. c. 2 oblénga.

3 c. 3 havannaénsis. 5 in. high, and
63 in. in diameter. .

4 c. 4 viridis. 8 in. high, and 104 in.

diameter. — Cactus Melocactus.

5 macrocéphala. 11 ft. high,

2 ¢.

5) (&

Berry tubular and pulpy, concealed in the cap till the seed is
matured ; after which it presents itself to view.

It is-much like the berry

7 Hooker. 7 in. high, and 9 in. in
diameter.
8 Lemar. 6 in. high, and 6 in. in
diameter.
9 ameena. 4 in. high, and 6 in. in
diameter.—Syn.M.c. Jordénsii,
M. rubens.
10 meonacantha. 5 in. high, and
6 in. in diameter.
11 violacea. 7 in. high, and 9 in. in

Form columnar, erect.

and 1 ft. in diameter. diameter.
6 pyramidalis. 10 in. high, and 9in. | 12 depréssa. 3 in. high, and 5 in. in
in diameter. — Syn. Cactus py- diameter.
ramidalis.
Genus VII. PILOCE*‘REUS.

Syn. Ca’ctus, CEREUS.
y ’

Surface angled or furrowed, remarkable for long white
hairs, besides the spines in the fascicles.

The singularly beautiful muff cacti in Mr. Lambert’s museum have, for
some time, been supposed to be the flowering parts of Pilocéreus senilis ;
and the recent information which has been obtained on the subject leaves
no doubt that this is the fact. We are told that this species, which attains
a considerable height in its native country (specimens have been sent to
England above 15 ft. long), when it attains its full growth, produces at or
near the top a great quantity of brown woolly hair, which differs from that
below, not only in its colour and quality, but in being extremely dense.
The flowers are produced in zones in this dense hair or muff; but whether
one or two zones of flowers are produced in each year we have not yet
learned.

The second species, P. colimna Trajani, is in the possession of my em-
ployer, and it has emitted an extra patch of hair on one side near the top,
which has not yet extended round the column; thus it appears as though
the column had burst, and protruded this dense tuft of hair from its inside.
Whether this tuft will flower without extending round the column or not,
_ remains to be proved.

senilis. 3 ft. high, and 6 in. in lamna Trajani; Melocactus co-
diameter. — Syn. Cereus senilis ; lamna Trajani; Pilocéreus co-
C. bradypus. metus.

colamna. 2 ft. high, and 4 in. in | 3 monacanthus. 33in. high, and

diameter. — Syn. Céreus co- 22 in. in diameter.

-1841.—VI. 3d Ser. Y

320

Cacti at Hendon Vicarage.

Trine PHYLLARIOCOTYLEDO'NE/.

Genus I.

CE‘REUS.

Form columnar, erect or creeping. Surface angled or furrowed, armed with

spines.
the sides of the plant.

Sect. I.
Subsect. 1. Column robust.

1 Jamacaru. 2+ ft. high, and 4 in. in
diameter. — Syn. C. glatcus.

2 le*‘tus. 3 ft. high, and 4 in. in di-
ameter. — Syn. C. formosus;
Cactus lee‘ta.

3 sp. (black spines). 4 ft. high, and
3 in. in diameter.

4 peruvianus. 2 ft. high, and 33 in.

_ diameter, — Syn. C. hexagonus ;

Cactus peruviana; C. penta-

gona; C. hexagona; C. hepta-

gona,

2 monstrosus. 33 ft. high, and

14 ft. in diameter, branched. —

Syn, Cactus monstrosa; C. ab-

normis.

6 sp. (brown spines). 2 ft. high,
and 23 in. in diameter.

7 geométricans. 2 ft. high, and 3 in.
diam, — Syn. C. aquicaulénsis.

Columns erect ;

5 p.

Sect. II.

nigricans. 2 ft. high, and 13 in.
in diameter,

azureus. 23 ft, high, and 13 in,
in diameter.

ceruléscens. 2 ft. high, and
13 in. in diameter. — Syn. C.
ZE*thiops, C. Mendory.

repandus. 43 ft. high, and 2 in.
in diameter.

hystrix. 11 ft. high, 24 in. diam.

Columns tall, erect,

Sect. III. Columns erect, short

24 multangularis. 2 ft. high, and
31 in. in diameter. — Syn.
Cactus multangularis.

m. 2 nobilis. 1 ft. high, and 33in.
in diameter.

m. 3 spin. fascis. 9 in. high, and
24 in. in diameter.

m. 4: spin. albis. 9 in. high, and
24 in. in diameter.

chiloénsis. 2 ft. high, and 43 in.
in diameter. — Syn. C. coquim-
banus; C. Quinttro; Echino-
cactus pyramidalis ; E. élegans.

25
26
27

and slender.

Flowers long and tube-like, produced in the fascicles of spines on
Berry naked.

rather thick.

8 pruinosus. 7 in. high, and 4 in. in
diameter. — Syn. C. roridus ;
Echinocactus pruinosa.

9 marginatus. 14 ft. high, and 34 in.
in diameter. — Syn. C. incrus-
tatus ; C. cupulatus ; C. Mir-
beli.

10 robistus. 33 ft. high, and 44 in.
in diameter.

Angles large.

Subsect. 2. Columns slight.

11 Forbés#. 9 in. high, and 2 in.
in diameter.

12 sp. 43 ft. high, and 22 in. in di-
ameter.

13 tetragonus. 23 ft. high, and 2 in.
in diameter, branched 1 ft. —
Syn. C. quadrangularis; Cactus
tetragona; C. pentagona,

14 virens (white spines and greenish).
2 ft. high, and 2 in. in diameter

Angles small, 6—9.

20 crenulatus. 1 ft. high, and 1d in.
diameter.— Syn. Cactus Roy-
éni.

21 sp. (glaucous skin). 2 ft. high,
and 23 in. in diameter.

22 sp. 12 ft. high, and 33 in. in di-
ameter.

23 sp. (spines whitish green). 1 ft.
high, and 24 in. in diameter.

, and stout. Angles many, 7—22.

29 Dyckz. 9 in. high, and 4 in. in
diameter.

30 sp. n. (gibbous angles, and mealy
skin).

31 sp. nov. (spines acute; angles
green). 1 ft. high, and 4 in. in
diameter.

32 sp. nov. (spines black and white).

33 candicans. 13 ft. high, and 7 in.
diam. — Syn. C. Montezime ;
Echinocactus candicans.

34 arachnoides. 7 in. high, 43 in.
in diameter.

Culture of the Peach in Pots. 321

Sect. 1V. Columns branching. Fascicles seated on teats, which finally become
confluent, and form obtuse gibbous angles.

35 Déppei. 1 ft. high, and 34 in. | 36 pentalophus. 6 in. high, and 6 in.
in diameter. — Syn. C. cine- in diameter, branched. — Syn.
rascens, C. leptacanthus.

Genus II. ASTRO’PHYTON.
Syn. Cereus, Ecuinoca’ctus.

Form globular. Surface obtusely angled or lobed; angles 5—7. Skin re-
markable for being densely covered with small white spots. Spines none.
Summits of the angles studded with round patches or fascicles of whitish
down. lowers like those of the Echinocacti.

1 myriostigma. 5in. high, and 7 in.
in diam. — Syn. Céreus callico-
che ; Echinocactus callicoche.

2m. 2 depréssa. 3 in. high, and 7
in. in diameter,

In all there are, exclusively of seedlings and some very small plants :—
Anhalonium, 2 sp. and var., and 3 specimens ; Mammillaria, 98 sp. and var., and
428 spec.; Echinocactus, 33 sp. and var., and 99 spec. ; Echinofossulocactus,
30 sp. and var., and 102 spec.; Echinonyctanthus, 12 sp. and var., and
63 spec.; Melocactus, 12 sp. and var., and 46 spec.; Pilocéreus, 3 sp., and
19 spec. ; Céreus, 36 sp. and var., and 105 spec.; Astréphyton, 2 sp. and
var., and 4 spec. ; making together 222 sp. and var., and 869 specimens. Be-
sides these, there are about 4,000 small plants and seedlings, and numerous
specimens of Opintia, though, as they belong to very few species, they have
not been inserted in the catalogue.

Hendon Vicarage, April, 184:1.

Art. VIII. On the Cultivation of the Peach in Pols, in Pine-houses.
_ By WiLi1am Hurcuison, Gardener to KE. J. Shirley, Esq. M. P.

As I consider I have been rather fortunate in growing peaches
and nectarines in pots, in the pine-house here, probably it might
not be uninteresting to some of the readers of the Gardener’s
Magazine to know how peaches can be produced in April; more
especially as I do not remember ever having seen the subject
treated on in that work.

Well, then, to begin at the beginning. Procure from the
nursery good maiden plants, as soon after the leaves fall in autumn
as possible; pot in sandy loam, enriched with one fourth well
rotted sheep or cow dung. I have three sizes of pots in use; the
smallest are 12 in. wide at top and 11 in. deep inside; the second
size are 14 in. at top and 13 in. deep; the third size are 17 in. at
top and 15 in. deep. The last is the largest size use. After
the plants are potted, plunge them in leaves, or any other litter,
to save the roots and pots from the frost. If a pit or frame can
be spared, it will be better to start the plants there the first year,

than to put them into pine-house heat at once. Cut down the
Y 2

~ Hs

322 Culture of the Peach

plants to four or five eyes, and they will make as many shoots
the first year. Place the plants in the pit or frame about the
first of January, increasing the heat gradually, as the plants grow,
to make the change to the pine-house as imperceptible as possible.
All that will be required during the first year is, to keep the
plants clean by daily syringing, and to water at the root as neces-
sity requires, occasionally with liquid manure. When the trees
have ripened their wood, let them be taken out and placed behind
a north wall. In September they may be shifted into the second-
sized pots, picking off a little mould from the top and sides of
the ball of earth. This will complete the first year.

In January of the second year, place the plants in the pine-
house at once. In pruning, cut in the shoots a little, according
to their strength. If the plants have made good wood during
the first year, they may be allowed to bear a few fruit during the
second year; but I would not advise to be over-anxious about
that, although in the second year I have gathered as fine New-
ington nectarines as I ever saw in a peach-house. Water and
syringe, as formerly, till the wood is ripe; then take out the
plants to their former situation behind the wall. By this time,
if the trees have been managed properly, they will be fine stocky
plants. Shift again in September; those that have grown strong
into the largest-sized pots; others, that may not have grown very
vigorous, may be placed in the same pots again, after reducing
the ball sufficiently to admit of a supply of fresh mould. This
will complete the second year.

Now, as the plants ought to be fit for work, means must be
taken to make them pay for the trouble they have occasioned.
To accomplish this, put in the plants on December 1. of the second
year. Syringe every morning with tepid water; keep the floor of
the house damp by watering, and raise steam frequently by
watering the flues or hot-water pipes. ‘This must be particularly
attended to. You highly benefit the pines at the same time.
During the last two seasons I have not been troubled with the
aphis, or green fly, on any of my peach trees in the pine-house.
T attribute this to nothing else but syringing the plants daily,
and keeping the air of the house as moist as possible. With one
of Scott’s syringes, a dozen trees can be gone over in three
minutes,

I keep the temperature as low during the night, in December,
as I can, consistently with keeping the pines in health, about 55°
Fahr.; from 5° to 10° higher during the day; with sun, 10° to
15° higher. Little or no air will be required during this month,
unless the weather be very mild indeed. While the plants are in
flower syringing must be dispensed with, and great caution
used that too much fire heat be not applied. One night’s neg-
lect at this stage will blast your hopes for one year. 60°

in Pots, in Pine-houses. 323

at night, during this time, will be enough; and 75°, with sun,
will not be too much during the day. As the season advances,
after the fruit are set, I keep about 65° at night; sometimes, on
mild nights, a little higher, on cold nights aaanensnel lower; but
during ne day, with sun, I push Shem on now from 80° to 85°
till the fruit are stoned, and begin to smell; they will then stand
a strong heat, ae to 95°; and repeatedly I trate had my house at
100° of Fahr.: but recollect that abundance of moisture must
accompany this high temperature. Keep the passages and pipes
watered often, and the trees will flourish under the glorious heat
of the sun.

Under the above treatment my trees are improving, and during
the last two years I have gathered peaches on April 20. At
present, my trees are a complete picture: I have eight dozen of
fruit on five of my earliest trees, swelled to an astonishing size
for the mode of culture. Mr. Brown, the worthy and respected
gardener of the Marquess of Hertford, at Ragley, called here on
Monday last, the 19th, the day previous to my gathering fruit.
On entering my pine-house, Mr. Brown said, ‘* Well! that beats
all the peach-forcing I ever saw.” I must say, I was not a little
proud of the good opinion of such an authority. And recollect,
this is all done without any additional expense, save the getting
of the plants and pots in the first instance, as they do not at all
interfere with either the pines or grapes. I have a pit in the
centre of the house filled with pines, and the rafters covered
with grapes, both in robust health.

In shifting, part of the old ball must be taken away, sufficient
to allow for an annual supply of fresh mould. The peach tree
roots so fast in rich light mould, that it soon establishes itself.

In watering, I give it in small quantities, sufficient to keep the
trees moderately moist, till after the fruit are stoned, when I give
it very plentifully, keeping the roots quite wet till they begin to
ripen. I then cover the surface of the pots with moss, to save
watering, giving as little as possible till the fruit are all off.

I will now conclude by giving a few words of advice to any
of those who may be inclined to try the forcing of the peach in
pots, at an early season, in pine-houses. I know of very consi-
derable failures having taken place in several establishments
during this season, that, were they all known, might deter others
from making the attempt. However, no enthusiast will ever be
inclined to give up his case as hopeless from one or two failures.
Now, I have known gardeners purchase trees from the nursery
two or three years old, pot them, and put them into the pine-house
at once, and they failed. ‘That will happen again, too, if it be
tried. The only plan is, to commence as I have recommended ;
and, at the end of two years, your plants will have a mass of

¥ 3

324 Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices,

fibres that will be able to imbibe nourishment sufficient to keep
the system in healthy action.

Should frosty weather set in about November, your trees must
be protected from the effects of it, as the buds will be swelled by
that time; and, should they be subjected to severe frost on put-
ting them into the pine-house, numbers of the flower-buds will
never expand at all: of course, the want of a little precaution in
this case will subject you to the loss of your crop.

Eatington Park, Shipston-on-Stour, April 22.1841.

Art. IX. Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices of
the Kinds of Plants newly introduced into British Gardens and
Plantations, or which have been originated in them; together with
additional Information respecting Plants (whether old or new) already
in Cultivation: the whole intended to serve as a perpetual Supplement
to the ‘** Encyclopedia of Plants,” the ‘* Hortus Britannicus,” the
“ Hortus Lignosus,” and the “ Arboretum et Fruticetum Britan-
nicum.

Curtis’s Botanical Magazine ; in monthly numbers, each containing
seven plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by. Sir William
Jackson Hooker, LL.D., &c., Professor of Botany in the University
of Glasgow.

Edwards’s Botanical Register ; in monthly numbers, new series, each
containing six plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by
Dr. Lindley, Professor of Botany in the University College,
London.

Maund’s Botanic Garden, or Magazine of Hardy Flower Plants cul-
tivated in Great Britains; in monthly numbers, each containing
four coloured figures in one page; large paper, 1s. 6d.; small, 1s.
Edited by B. Maund, Esq., F.L.S.

Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants;
in monthly numbers; large 8vo; 2s. 6d. each.

Ranunculacee.
1605. AQUILE‘GIA 14289 glandulosa 1 discolor Botanist, No. 219.

Malvacee.
2004. MA’/LVA 17823 fragrans
Synonymes: Malva odorata Botanist, 218.
Balsaminee.
698. IMPA‘TIENS
rosea Lindl. rose-coloured QJ or 6 au Pk Himalayas 1839. S r.m Bot. reg. 1841, 27.
A pretty Himalayan plant, with pink flowers, which will keep a long time in
water (see p.61.). “The pods are oblong, and covered with white wool.”
(Bot. Reg., May.)

supplementary to Ene. of Plants, Hort. Brit., and Arb. Brit. $25

Cactdcee.
1473. EPIPHY’LLUM 12593 truncatum var. violaceum Paat. Mag. of Bot. viii p. 79.

A very pretty variety, with a great abundance of flowers. (Pavt. Mag. of
Bot.)

Rubidcee.

635. POSOQUE‘RIA
versfcolor Lindl. changeable 2 (.] or ... au Pk W Cuba 1839. C p.1 Bot.reg. 1841, 26.

A very handsome stove shrub, the flowers of which are first white, but
afterwards become pink, and finally crimson. It flowered with Messrs.
Loddiges. (Bot. Reg., May.)

Cyrtandracee.
3715. HSCHYNA’NTHUS

maculatus Lind. spotted €&(f) or 3 au.n S India 1839. C p.r.w Bot. reg. 1841, 28.

Another species of this handsome genus, which is a stove plant “ requiring
a strong heat and damp atmosphere during the growing season.” It strikes
freely from cuttings, and flowers irregularly, according to its season of rest.
(Bot. Reg., May.)

Cobeeacee.

498. COBO: 4
stipularis Zzmd/. large-stipuled g AJ or 20 my.o G 1839. S p.l Bot. reg. 1841, 25.

This is a very handsome species, with greenish flowers. It resembles the
old cobcea in habit ; and though a perennial, and indeed half-shrubby, it may
be treated as an annual, and raised on a hotbed for planting out in May.
(Bot. Reg., May.)

Convolvulacee.

491. IROMs‘A {mag. of bot. viii. p. 73.
_tyrianthina Lindl. purple #%t J or 10 aun ODk.P California 1838. C r.m Paxt.

This splendid species was mentioned by Dr. Lindley in Botanical Miscellany
of the Bot. Reg. tor 1838 ; but the specimen here figured was imported by
Mr. Henchman, nurseryman at Edmonton, with some Cacti, in June 1840.
The tuberous roots, which Mr. Henchman describes as resembling those of
mangold wurzel, were potted immediately in rich mould, and grew with such
rapidity that “by the end of August they were large plants, and full of bloom.
The plants continued in flower till November, when they gradually died down.
The flowers, which are very numerous, and produced in clusters on long foot-
stalks, continue open two days, except in very hot weather; but by the
second day their fine rich hue has disappeared, leaving the ground colour a
reddish purple.” (Paxt. Mag. of Bot., May.)

Scrophularinee.
3465. LOPHOSPE/ RMUM 28982 erubéscens var. spectabile Paxt. Mag of Boé. vol. viii. p. 75.

A variety raised by Mr. Ansell of the Cambden Nursery, with pink flowers,
spotted with white. (Part. Mag. of Bot., May.)

Begoniacee.
2654. BEGO‘NIA 31539 Drégzz Botanist, No. 217.
Orchidacee.
3582. LA‘LIA (24.

acuminata Lindl. acuminated € [A] or /2 j P.W Mexico 1840. D p.r.w Bot. reg. 1841,

This species is said to be the flower which the natives call Flor de Jesus,
from its great beauty. (Bot. Reg., May.)
2542. COZLO’GYNE [29.
Cumingzz Lindl. Mr. Cuming’s @& [AJ or 2 j W.Y Sincapore 1840. D p.r.w Bot. reg. 1841,
A species nearly allied to C. trinérvis, with white flowers, having a bright
yellow blotch on the lip. It is a native of Sincapore, and should be cul-
tivated in a very warm moist stove, such as suits dendrobiums and plants of
that kind. (Bot. Reg., May.)

116. CRO*CUS
1012 minimus var. Synonyme: C. annulatus Adamicus W. Herb., Bot. Mag. t. 3868.
1021. lagenzflorus var. lacteus lutéscens Bot. Mag. t. 3869.

y 4

326 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c.

Amaryllidacee.

960. HAAMA/NTHUS [Mozambique 1839. D rub.s.l1_ Bot. mag. 3870.
tenuifldrus var. mozambicus W. Herb. slender-flowered, Mozambique variety % [A] or 1 ap Bri
This is a variety of a species of Hamanthus from Delagoa Bay, which has

not yet been introduced in a living state, though dried specimens have been

sent to this country. It is very handsome; and it is grown in a pot filled “to.

a considerable height with old bricks and pots pounded, putting light loam

above ; and keeping the round bulb above ground, with its prolonged base

under ground.” (Bot. Mag., May.) ;

979. ALSTRGEMEYRIA 28592 acutifdlia. Synonyme : Bomarea acutifolia Mz7d.

var. punctata W. H. Bot. Mag. 387.

Bomarea is a genus divided by Professor Mirbel of Paris from Alstroe-
méria ; and this is a variety of A. acutifolia from the Caraccas, which has
the petals spotted inside. (Bot, Mag., May.)

SPREKE‘L/4 Heister. (In honour of Dr. Sprekel, a German botanist. )
cybister W. Herb. tumbler % (ZX) cu ap W _ Bolivia 1839. D r.1 Bot, mag. 3872.
A variety of this curious species was figured in the Botanical Register for

1840 ; and was noticed in the Gard. Mag., vol. xvi. p. 346., where it

was wrongly stated that Sprekélia was one of Mr. Herbert’s names. The

genus was founded on the old Jacobea lily by Heister, a German botanist ;

and it contains the present species, S. formosissima (the Jacobea lily), S.

glatica, and S. cinnabarina, all of which have flowered at Spofforth. (Bot.

iMag., May.)

ELISE‘NA W. Herb. (Derivation not given.) (3873.
longipétala Lind/. long-petaled § (A) or 3 mr W Lima 1837. O- s.1 Bot. mag.
This genus was founded by Mr. Herbert on the Pancratium ringens of tne

Flora Peruviana; but he considers the present plant to have completely the

aspect of an Isméne. The plant “ flowered at Spofforth in the greenhouse, at

the end of March, in a 6-inch pot of white sand, with a very small admixture of
loam, and produced eight leaves, with a scape above a yard high, and six
flowers.” (Bot. Mag., May.)

REVIEWS.

Art. I. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany,
Rural Architecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of
those considered the more interesting.

THE Field, the Garden, and the Woodland ; or interesting Facts respecting
Flowers and Plants in general. Designed for the Young. By a Lady.
12mo, pp. 324, numerous woodcuts. London.

“ The design of the following work is to present to the young reader several
interesting facts, with which the botanist becomes acquainted in the pursuit of
science. By stating them in a familiar form to the unlearned, the author hopes
to awaken some interest in the study and observation of nature —a study
alike elevating and consoling in its influences on the mind. It has been her
object throughout the work, to direct the attention to the wisdom and good-
ness of God, as exhibited in the structure and arrangement of the vegetable
kingdom; and to demonstrate the confirmation which is added by Nature to
the doctrine declared by Revelation, of a superintending Providence.”

The work is arranged in twelve letters, which embrace many hundreds of
facts connected with flowers, and likely to be of popular interest. We do not
know a better book for creating or strengthening a love of plants in a young
person.

Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 327

Vegetable Physiology ; being Part of « Popular Cyclopedia of Natural Science.
8vo, pp. 295, numerous woodcuts. London, 1841.

This is the first of a series of volumes intended to be published on Natural
Science, by a “ Society for the Promotion of Popular Instruction.” The
Society “feel assured that it will be found sufficiently simple in its character,
and clear in its explanations, to be regarded as an elementary treatise, adapted
to those who have no previous knowledge of the subject; whilst its sys-
tematic arrangement, and the scientific nature of the principles laid down in
“it, render it an excellent introduction to more comprehensive works on the
same subject. The general reader, who seeks no more than entertainment or
recreation, will find it in this volume, in the copious illustrative facts and inte-
_ resting collateral information with which it abounds ; whilst to the agriculturist,
the gardener, and the domestic economist, it supplies principles and practical
applications of great importance.” Contents. Introduction. Chap. 1. Of the
General Character of Living Beings, and the Distinction between Animals and
Vegetables. Chap. 11. General View of the Vegetable Kingdom- Chap. u1.
Of the Elementary Structure of Plants. Chap. 1v. Of the Structure and
Functions of the Roots. Chap. v. Of the Structure and Functions of the
Stem. Chap. vi. Of the Food of Plants, and the Manner in which it is ob-
tained. Chap. vit. On the Structure of Leaves. Chap. vir. Of the Functions
of the Leaves. Chap. rx. General View of the Nutritive Powers in Plants.
Chap. x. Of the Secretions of Plants. Chap. x1. Of the Production of
Light, Heat, and Electricity by Plants— Motions of Plants. Chap. x.
on the Reproduction of Plants. The work is creditably executed, and very
cheap.

A Treatise on the Cultivation of the Cucumber in Pots, so as to produce Cucumbers
every Day in the Year, with less Trouble, more Certainty, and less Expense,
than by any other System hitherto published ; also in Pits, on Dung Beds, in
the open Garden, and on Balconies and Walls ; to which are added, Directions
for growing Cucumbers for Seed, the Destruction of Insects, the Cure of Dis-
eases, and a List of the most esteemed Varieties of Cucumber for Prize Culture.
By W. P. Ayres, Gardener to John Dobede, Esq., Isham Place, Cambridge-
shire. 12mo, pp.46. London, 1841.

This is the third treatise on the culture of the cucumber which we have had
to record since the commencement of our present volume. We first noticed
the work of Mr. Mills, p.229; next that of Mr. Duncan, p. 274. ; and re-
commended it as treating the subject in a different manner from Mr. Mills,
and for the same reason we must now recommend the treatise of Mr. Ayres,
for it is quite different from either. Mr. Ayres grows his winter cucumbers
not in pits or frames, but in low houses with steep roofs ; a much more agree-
able mode for the amateur than dung beds, and not less suitable for the
professional gardener, for Mr. Ayres’s father practised it upwards of thirty
years.

A Selection from the Physiological and Horticultural Papers published in the
“ Transactions of the Royal and Horticultural Societies,” by the late Thomas
Andrew Knight, Esq., President of the Horticultural Society of London,
Sc. §c. To which is prefixed a Sketch of his Life. Royal 8vo, pp. 379,
plates and woodcuts. London, 1841.

Mr. Knight is unquestionably the father of the horticultural science of Ens=
land, as Du Hamel may well be said to be of that of France. The proof of
this is to be found, in both countries, in the gardening publications that
existed previously to the Physique des Arbres which appeared in 1758, and
Mr. Knight’s papers which were published in the Royal Society’s Transactions
in the beginning of the present century. The best previous works on garden-
ing in Europe were those of La Quintinie in France, and Miller in England ;
and these may be considered at best as only rationally empirical.

328 General Notices.

Mr. Knight’s Zveatise on the Apple and Pear, and his papers in Dr. Ander-
son’s Recreations, and in the Transactions of the Royal and Horticultural So-
cieties, have laid the foundation of a new mode of treating the art of vegetable
culture ; and, in connexion with the exertions of the Horticultural Society
of London while he was president, have called forth all those numerous new
kinds of fruits, vegetables, and flowers, with which our gardens are now
enriched or adorned. The volume before us comprises all the more valuable
papers written by Mr. Knight that have reference to horticulture; and, though
the doctrines they contain have long been embodied in elementary works,
their collection will be hailed with satisfaction by the vegetable physiologist,
as well as by the scientific gardener.

The sketch of Mr. Knight’s life occupies about 70 pages, and is instructive
as showing that his success was neither owing to superior education nor
favourable circumstances, but to his own energetic mind, and to his steady
perseverance in the pursuit of such objects only as he considered likely to
prove useful to society.

We shall conclude this brief notice with a short extract from the Intro-
duction : —

“ A taste for horticulture has for some years been so universally culti-
vated, that all classes are familiar with Mr. Knight’s name as a writer, and
the extracts from his papers which are found in many of the periodical
publications on horticulture and arboriculture of the present day, have caused
the readers of these works to be in some degree conversant with the particular
subjects on which he has treated ; and, though the value of the present work
may be diminished by the task of editing it having unavoidably fallen to these
who are ill-qualified to do justice to the undertaking, they are still cheered by
the hope that their imperfect attempt may, nevertheless, by making both Mr.
Knight’s character and his writings better known, be the means of demon-
strating more fully to the world the constant and never-tiring exertions of his
mind in the pursuit of knowledge, aid its application to purposes of practical
utility, for the benefit of his fellow-creatures.” (p. vi.)

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

Art. I. General Notices.

CATERPILLARS on Vines. —I have been very much troubled with a green cater-
pillar on the vines in one of my vineries for several seasons past, which is
very difficult to find, as it chiefly feeds by night, and is so nearly of the colour
of the vine leaves as scarcely to be distinguished from them. The best way
that I could discover for destroying these insects was, to take a lighted candle
into the vinery in the evening, and to examine the leaves which had been
partly destroyed, when I have generally found the caterpillar feeding on them.
In the daytime, I take the fumigating bellows with a very small quantity of
tobacco in them, and blow the smoke well in among the vines, which causes
the caterpillars to fall to the ground, where they may be easily killed. I kept
a few of the caterpillars till they came to maturity; and, as I found by this
means that they were the produce of a small brown moth, I was very careful
to kill all the moths of this species that I saw in the vinery in autumn; in
consequence of which, I am happy to say, I have seen none of the caterpillars
this season.—J. Catton. Rollison’s Nursery, Tooting, December, 1840.
Steaming Mushroom-houses.— My mushroom-house is a small back shed,
10 ft. by 11 ft., open to the roof. At one end is situated the heating and
steam apparatus, which consists of a fireplace, with a flue 4 ft. in length, to con-
duct the smoke to an adjoining chimney ; and over the fire is placed a 10-gallon
boiler, open at the top, with a movable lid, and a tap to supply it with water

General Notices. 329

from a cistern in an adjoining shed. In the morning, the boiler being filled
with water, I put a little fire under it, which soon causes it to boil. The
house is soon filled with a mild sweet steam, which I generally keep up for
two successive hours. In the evening a similar process is observed. A mild
and uniform temperature is thus produced, generally ranging from 55° to 60°
of Fahrenheit’s thermometer, and an. atmosphere saturated with moisture, in
which the mushrooms thrive vigorously. I have thus produced weekly,
from the 10th of November up to the present time (March), upon a surface of
eight square yards, at an average, four large dishes of fine mushrooms, some
of them measuring 23 in. in circumference, and thick and fleshy in proportion.
I was led to adopt the use of steam from my beds requiring to be watered very
often ; and, in doing so, many of the small mushrooms were destroyed : but
watering is now quite dispensed with; the steam coming in contact with the
cold surface of the beds is rapidly condensed, and a copious supply of moisture
is thus obtained. That a humid atmosphere is an essential point in the arti-
ficial culture of mushrooms, no one who has watched them in their natural
haunts will deny. (S. H. Crumpsall, near Manchester, in Gard. Chron.,
March 20. p. 181.)

Earthworms have been found by Mr. Dunlop, gardener to George Fuller,
Esq., Streatham, 144 ft. below the surface, in the crevices of basaltic rock,
on his father’s farm, Well of Barnwell, in the parish of Craigie} near Kilmar-
nock. — A. D. Streatham, April, 1841. ;

On boiling Potatoes.— My comfort has been so much increased since I have
had practised the preparing and boiling of potatoes according to the receipt
given in the Gardener’s Mag., vol. vii. p. 369., that I cannot any longer refrain
from informing you of the fact for the benefit of your readers, and in gratitude
to your correspondent A. W., of Crosslee Cottage, near Glasgow, who
furnished the receipt. The potatoes constitute a regular Pennsylvanian crop,
but either from their inherent deficiency of good quality, or from ignorance in
the mode of preparing and boiling them, a dry mealy tuber is rarely seen at
dinner. Hence, when Lancashire or Irish potatoes are announced they are
eagerly bought up, because they resist ignorance or carelessness on the part
of the cook. Next to them, if not fully their equal, are the potatoes from the
state of Maine (the most northern state in the Union), which originated in
Mercer county, one of the extreme western counties of Pennsylvania, a few years
since, from sowing the seeds of potato apples. The climate and soil of Maine
agree admirably with these Mercers, and are so fine that they are in great de-
mand. I find it, however, unnecessary to lay in a stock of them ; for, since
A. W’s. receipt has been followed, the common produce of our market turns
out white, dry, mealy, and well flavoured, and is purchased as wanted. —
J.M. Philadelphia, March 9. 1841.

The receipt referred to is as follows :—Wash the earth off the potatoes, and
scrape or pare the skins off; which last should be done as thin as possible,
not only from motives of economy, but also because the outside of the petato
is always the best. Then let them stand covered with, and soaking in, water
an hour and a half or two hours. Wash them well out of this water ; put a
handful of salt with them in the pan they are to be boiled in, covering of
course, with cold water, and boil quickly, the quicker the better.

Aspergillus glatcus is a species of fungus which grows on damp and putre-
fying fruit, bread, cheese, &c., and on plants while drying for the herbarium, if
not regularly shifted. ‘“ This is the plant so well known,” says Dr. Johnson,
“by the name of the mould, and there is much interest in its history. At
first, some white cobwebelike filaments spread over the substance infected,
whence sprouts up a thick forest of other filaments, about one eighth of an
inch in height, pellucid, tubular, and obscurely marked with one or two joints.
Each filament is terminated with a globe, minute indeed to our enlarged
vision, but large and heavy when compared with the slender stalk which
supports it. This globe is entirely composed of pellucid grains, uncovered by

330 Foreign Notices : — North America.

any membrane, yet closely compacted ; and if unravelled with a little care
they will be found to be, occasionally at least, arranged in beaded lines of
perfect uniformity. (Flora of eee)

Derangement of the Spinal Column. — Though this is a subject that has nothing
to do with gardening, we trust we shall be excused for noticing it on account
of the connexion it has with a gardener, one of our correspondents, for
whom we, in common, we believe, with all who know him, have a very great
respect. We allude to Mr. J. D. Parks, a botanical collector sent to India
and China in 1825 or thereabouts, by the Horticultural Society, and for the
last fifteen years a nurseryman at Dartford in Kent. Mr. Parks, being out on
a professional journey, had the misfortune to sleep in a damp bed, which
brought on one disease after another, till, at last, his spine was so much injured
that he could neither sit nor walk. For several years he was wheeled about
in his nursery in a litter ; and we have frequently, when calling on him on our
way to a villa the grounds of which we were laying out, been edified at wit-
nessing his patience, resignation, and even cheerfulness. After trying nu-
merous methods of cure, some prescribed by regular practitioners, and others
by quacks, Mr. Parks at last cured himself. Of all this he has given the
history in a shilling pamphlet, the perusal of which is as entertaining as a
romance, and, to those families where there is a tendency to spinal complaints,
it will be foufid as instructive as it is entertaining. The pamphlet, which is
entitled, The Cure of Spinal Complaints, may be enclosed in a twopenny letter ;
and we recommend such of our readers as wish to read an intensely interest-
ing narrative, to write to Mr. Parks for it.— Cond.

Art. II. Foreign Notices.

NORTH AMERICA.

New Cherry Tree from the far West.— Messrs. Lewis and Clark, on their
return from their western tour (1806), brought with them, among other trees,
a new species of cherry, which was planted in Washington Square. The late
C. S. Rafinesque ascertained that it was a new species, and sent an account
of it to DeCandolle in the year 1830. He called it Prunus (Cérasus) rotundi-
folia, and thus describes it in his Atlantic Journal* : —“ Arborescent. Leaves
rounded, base often subcordate, end obtusely acuminate, margin serrulate.
Flowers fasciculate. Berries oblong, small, and black. A fine large tree, 20 ft.
high in 20 (29) years’ growth. Bark very dark, nearly black. Branchlets slender,
with a greyish brown bark. Buds small, rufous, with obtuse scales. Leaves like
those of the apricot, but much smaller, about 1 in. long, not so smooth; alittle
rough, but not pubescent. Blossoms in May; and produces abundance of white
flowers, with a fine smell of honey. The cherries are ripe in July ; small, one
fourth of an inch long, elliptical, resembling small wild plums, but black, soft,
and sweet when ripe. Good to eat, but if too many are eaten causing nausea,
like all wild cherries. Stone oblong, acute, asin the plum, but without the
three keels, as in the cherry.” —J. MZ. Philadelphia, March 29. 1841.
Mammoth Cabbage. — Some seeds of this French phenomenon were sent
over last spring to the post-master of this city, Mr. Page, by an agent of the
general post-office. Having been favoured with a few, I gave them to my
neighbour, P. M‘ Kenzie. One only vegetated, and from its rapid growth, bid
fair to become a sight ; but now, when one year old and carefully nursed all

* Atlantic Journal and Friend of Knowledge, in eight numbers: containing
160 articles (original) and tracts on natural and historical sciences ; the de-
scription of 150 new plants, and 100 new animals and fossils ; many vocabu-
laries of language, &c. &c. (Philad., 1833.)

Domestic Notices : — England. 331

the winter, it is only 2 ft. high, but with a stalk 1 in. in diameter. One
reared by Mr. Page is the same height, and both are now in flower. Time
only can show what they will come to.—J. MM. Philadelphia, March 29. 184.1,

Sourmiller Potato. — Some potatoes of a monstrous size, under this name,
were sent from France last April as a new sort. I was presented with half
a one, which P. M. M‘Kenzie planted. The produce was much smaller than
the parent tubers, and, when taken to the Horticultural Society, were pro-
nounced to be Rohans. I had one boiled which was raised by a friend,
and found it much inferior, as an esculent, to the common stock of the coun-
try. — Idem.

Art. Ill. Domestic Notices.
ENGLAND.

THE Exhibition at the Horticultural Societys Gardens, held on May 15., was
one of the best May exhibitions that have ever been witnessed. Five gold
Knightian medals were given for plants, and one for fruits; eight gold
Banksian medals for plants, and one for fruits ; twenty-six large silver medals
for plants, and two for fruits ; sixteen silver Knightian medals for plants, and
six for fruits; and eight silver Banksian medals for plants, and six for fruits.
Among the plants were Cytisus Wéldeni and ‘lex speciosa: the first a
beautiful hardy shrub, which may now be seen in flower at Mr. Groom’s at
Walworth ; and the second an evergreen shrub, in the collection of Mr. Leaf
of Streatham, and likely to prove hardy. — Cond.

Kensington Gardens. — Arrangements are in progress for supplying the grand
basin in the centre of the gardens, and in the highest ground which they con-
tain, with water from one of the water companies, and for measuring the quan-
tity delivered with a meter ; the most economical and fair mode for the public
and the company. This basin is 20 or 30 feet above the level of the Serpen-
tine River, into which the waste of the basin is to be delivered ; and this river
is a great many feet above the level of the canal in St. James’s Park. Hence
there might be a fountain formed at the upper, or north, end of the river, and
one or more in the canal. As the river is in the natural style, the fountain in
it might be in the form of a source, composed of huge masses of rock, from
which the water might trickle down in streamlets, while in St. James’s Park it
maight rise in a formal jet or jets. This is a mere rude outline of what might
be done, at comparatively little expense ; but were a greater expense to be in-
dulged in, then, by having a steam-engine concealed among the trees in Ken-
sington Gardens, a jet might be formed in the centre of the basin, of upwards
of 100 ft. in height. Such a jet once existed in the pond in the Park of Bar-
rackpoor, Calcutta, of 120 ft. in height, forced up by an engine of 18-horse
power. It was destroyed by Lord William Bentinck. We have more than
once, in this Magazine, suggested the idea of having jets in the centre of some
of the public squares ; the engine being placed in some back street or mews.
The first cost for one in Grosvenor Square, we are informed by an engineer,
would be under 500/., all expenses included ; and the expense of coal and at-
tendayice, supposing the fountain to play six hours daily, would not exceed 3/.
or 4/. a week ; which, surely, might be raised by subscription among the
occupants of the surrounding houses. We are informed also, by the same
engineer, that the high service of some of the water companies would supply
fountains in the form of jets as high as the houses, in several parts of London ;
but that the waste of water would render such fountains more expensive than
those forced by steam-engines, in which the same water is used perpetually.
— Cond.

A public Park in the East of London has been talked of for some time, and is
at last likely to be carried into execution. We hope it will be of sufficient
extent to be of real use to the surrounding population, and that it will be laid

332 Domestic Notices : — Scotland.

out in such a style as to bring it into harmony with the other parks, become
inviting io the wealthy classes as well as the general mass of the population,
and thus assimilate, to a much greater extent than at present, the East end of
the town with the West end.— Cond.

The Margins of the great Lines of Railway, that have been some years exe-
cuted, are now becoming covered with grass, and much more agreeable to the
eye than before ; and, while lately gliding along the line to Birmingham, it oc-
curred to us that additional interest might be given to the banks, at very little
expense, by planting a collection of trees and shrubs on them. The plants
might be afurlong apart; those on the sides of the deep cuttings may be
shrubs ; those on the sides of the embankments tall trees; and those where
the ground on each side is nearly on a level with the road middle-sized trees,
such as thorns, Pyrus Sorbus, &c. Half-way between each tree or shrub there
might be a tall-growing, striking, herbaceous plant, such as the hollyhock, Sibe-
rian parsnep, &c. We are not aware of any objection to this idea except
the expense, which could not be very great, and if ever the ground came to be
pastured by sheep, which we think must be its ultimate destination, the herb-
aceous plants might be given up. The trees and shrubs, when once planted,
would require no expense whatever to keep them up, because the nurseryman
who planted them might contract to keep them in order for three years, when
they would be fully established. The herbaceous plants would require a small
annual expense, but they might be omitted or given up when the ground was
to be pastured. The fine effect, both of herbaceous plants and trees, may be
seen on the bank on the right-hand side of the approach to the London ter-
minus of the Great Western Railway. There the trees and plants are, very
properly, numerous, so as to form a plantation; but along the railroads we
propose the trees or shrubs to be a furlong apart, so as to form what may be
called a varied and running foreground to the passing scenery. The directors
of all the railways have paid most laudable attention to the architecture of the
bridges, station houses, and all other buildings, and have succeeded in blending
utility with architectural beauty in a highly gratifying degree. It would be
only consistent, therefore, to confer some ornament on the naked banks, the
formation of which was not less necessary to the existence of the railway than
the building of the viaducts and bridges. To any person at all fond of obsery-
ing trees and shrubs, the recurrence of a new species or variety about every
minute would be a source of perpetual interest, and would not interfere with
the distant scenery. The collection on one side of the road should have no
connexion with the collection on the other side, in order that a person wish-
ing to see the whole might confine himself entirely to looking to one side in
going, and to the opposite side in returning. Many beautiful trees and shrubs
might thus be brought into notice, that at present few people know any thing of.
The banks of railroads in some parts of the country, when once they are com-
pletely separated from the road by the growth of the hedge, or by some other
effective fence, might be let out as garden ground, or for orchards; but, in
general, too little attention has been paid to preserving the old surface soil on
the new surface, for these kinds of occupation. — Cond.

SCOTLAND.

A General Cemetery isin contemplation here on some ground which is beau-
tifully varied on the surface, and abounds in rocks, and situations from which
views of the sea are obtained; in short, on a part of Arthur’s Seat. Rullian
Green, on Pentland Hills, has also been talked of. — W. D. Edinburgh, April,
1841.

White’s Patent Heating Apparatus has been applied to a vinery in Yester Gar-
dens. Our readers will find a notice of Mr. White’s apparatus, by Mr. M‘Nab,
in the present volume, p. 3. It is recommended for its great economy of fuel,
and the comparatively little attendance it requires from the gardener. The
following is an extract from a letter on the subject, addressed to Mr. White by
the gardener at Yester, Mr. Dobson : —

Retrospective Criticism. 333

“ For the satisfaction of those interested in horticultural improvements, 1
have much pleasure in stating my opinion of the vinery erected here by you,
for the most noble the Marquess of Tweedale.

“The vinery is of light construction, being of metal; the rafters of mal-
leable iron, 3 in. broad and 3 in. deep ; and the astragals of zinc. The house
was finished during the autumn of 1840, and furnished with your heating
apparatus. During the early part of the winter, I filled the vinery with a
variety of greenhouse plants, both shrubby and herbaceous; and, notwith-
standing the intense cold experienced early in January, I had no difficulty
whatever in keeping the house at the temperature best calculated for the
plants which it contained. Since then I have sufficiently tested, to my satis-
faction, the power of your heating apparatus. In ordinary severe weather,
while the thermometer in the open air, during the night, ranged between 20°
and 30°, I found no difficulty in keeping the temperature to any point required
between 50° and 80°, arange which I consider quite sufficient for any purpose
of forcing. The stove was heated with coke; and, during a period while the
thermometer ranged between 60° and 76°, the cost did not exceed 2s. 6d. per
month. The fuel consumed during the time was 10 bushels.

“T have no hesitation in saying that your erection, taken as a whole, is a
great improvement on the ordinary method practised in the construction of
vineries, both as regards elegance and substantiality. | Your method of
heating is also well adapted for keeping up a regular and steady temperature.
The system of regulating the heat is admirably arranged, which, with ventila-
tion and supplying of fuel, may be intrusted to the care of any individual.

“‘ Many noblemen and gentlemen have visited the house since its erection,
and have expressed themselves highly pleased with its construction, also
with the stove and hot-air flues. It is essential, however, that the fitting
up of the stoves, flues, &c., be superintended with great care, in order to
insure success.

“ The house was recently planted with a variety of vines, and I am happy
to inform you that they are now breaking well.” — J, D. May, 1841.

Sir John Robison’s Plant Case. (Vol XVI. p. 117.)—The plant case of
which I sent you a description has been successful in a surprising degree, the
tropical plants have thriven and increased in size almost in an inconvenient
degree, and have outstripped those of the same sorts which are in Mr. Ellis’s
case (as described in the Gard. Mag. vol. xy. p. 492.), although they are
about three years the seniors. I ascribe this chiefly to the free space and
more light which my ease has afforded them. Inthe middle of February I
put a number of Van Thol tulips in shells, with a little soil and moss, and
suspended them over the plants in the case; they were over blown on the
thirty-second day.—J. R, Edimburgh, April 1841.

Art. 1V. Retrospective Criticism.

Mr. PENN’s Mode of heating at Chatsworth. — In the course of discussion on
this subject in the Gardener’s Gazette and the Gardener’s Chronicle, it appeared
that the extract of a letter by Mr. Paxton, given in our April No. p. 234., was
not written by that gentleman, though the letter bore his signature. This cir-
cumstance seeming to us rather extraordinary, we wrote to Mr. Paxton on
the subject, who immediately returned to us the followiug letter, with permis-
sion to publish it.

(Copy of a note sent to John Penn, Esq., by Thomas Bailey.)

Po SSIES Chatsworth Gardens, April 6. 1841.
“ Mr. Paxton has again desired me to write for your accounts for heating
the two Orchidez pits here, which you will be kind enough to send at your
earliest convenience.

334 Queries and Answers.

“ Mr. P. has just shown me a letter in Glenny’s newspaper (sent him from
the office), with his signature attached, which he complains of as conveying
more than his opinion of it at any time would have warranted him to express.
If the language published is precisely that made use of by me, which, to the
best of my recollection, I doubt, Mr. Paxton had no more to do with it than
desiring me to write you a civil note for him, expressing his satisfaction at the
working of the apparatus at that time, and to request your accounts.

« As a gentleman who has no desire to mislead, you will, perhaps, do Mr.
Paxton the justice to publish this also.

“ Tam, Sir, your humble servant,

“ Joun Penn, Esq. Tuomas BaILey.”

Plants adapted for a Conservative Wall. — 1 turned with avidity to Mr. Scott’s
list of plants adapted for a conservative wall, as published in your last Number ;
but it was only to find that such a list as your correspondent Mr. Kent (p. 45.)
requires has still to be written. Ifa multiplicity of names be a merit, it
is asuredly one that may be claimed for this list ; but when I mention that
a wall seven miles in length would be required to crowd the whole upon,
you will agree, I think, that selection would be a far greater merit. The
great number of species naturally precludes any approach to accuracy in
classing them according to their comparative hardihood. We find Illicium
floridanum (thoroughly hardy, and now in blossom here, after standing unpro-
tected through the winter), Bérberis empetrifolia, and Mahonia Aquifolium
(both quite hardy), Kérria japénica fl. pl., Cotoneaster microphylla and
rotundifolia, Hrica australis, Salvia aGrea (now in blossom here, out unpro-
tected through the last winter), &c., all of which will stand in the open border
or lawn without any protection, and Bignonia capreolita, &c., which do not
suffer in the least against an ordinary wall, classed with plants to which slight
frost is certain destruction. I wish Ihad the Chatsworth wall at my command
for a few years, you should have a list then deduced solely from experience.—
T.B. Surrey, May 5. 1841.

Mr. Niven’s Stove for various Purposes (see p. 234. and 49.). — Mr. Niven
informs us that he feels reluctant to answer the objections of Catius, unless
that writer will give his real name. This we hope Catius will do, because dis-
cussion on the subject of Mr. Niven’s article cannot fail to be useful. — Cond.

Shriveling of Grapes. —The paragraph in p. 262. is the only one on this sub-
ject that [ think points out the real cause, except my own article in Vol. XIL.,
p- 494. I believe the cause to be too much moisture, with too little heat, as I
never found early forced grapes subject to it.—J. D. Parks. Dartford Nursery,
Dartford, May 12. 1841,

Art. V. Queries and Answers.

Mu'sa Cavendishii. — My present employer is anxious to know what weicht
of fruit of this plant he may expect from a house 30 ft. long, 15 ft. wide, 12 ft.
high at the back, and 6 ft. high at the front, heated both by flues and hot
water. He also wishes to be informed whether the fruit is produced princi-
pally at one season, or whether, like that of the pine-apple, it may be had all
the year. Ina word, he wishes to be able to determine whether to devote
this house to pine-apples or bananas. — J.S. Durham, May, 1841,

We shall be greatly obliged to any reader who will send us an early answer,
founded on his own experience and observation, to the above query, which is
from a young friend of ours who has just gone to his first situation as head
gardener. — Cond.

THE

GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,
JULY, 1841.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Art. I. On the Philosophy of Manures. By R. LymMBurn. |

Srvc sending you the essay on Dr. Liebig’s Physiology applied
to Agriculture, I have seen the different publications of Professor
Daubeny of Oxford and Professor Johnstone of Durham on
the same subject. The philosophy of manures seems to have
attracted the attention it so deservedly merits; and, when
brought so prominently forward by men who, notwithstanding
their profound knowledge of theory, are yet so cautious as to
wish every thing confirmed by actual experiment, we may well
anticipate great ‘results. The experiments instituted by Professor
Daubeny, “and those pointed out by Professor Johnstone as
proper to be conducted by agriculturists themselves, should
greatly help to enable theory to point out the true action taking
place in the conversion of the various substances exhibited as
manures into the food of the plant. Having already occupied so
much room in your valuable periodical (p.97.), I will confine
myself in the present essay to the notice of those subjects not
previously brought forward by Dr. Liebig, or on which the
above professors seem not perfectly agreed.

On the subject of Ammonia, Professor Daubeny remarks
that, if we confine its source to that furnished by animals to
plants, and if the plants which have furnished it to animals
derived it from the atmosphere, either a superabundance must
have originally existed in the atmosphere, and would, in that
case, have been fatal to the then smaller quantity of plants, or
there must be some other source of supplying the want of
ammonia which increased population, and, consequently, cultiva-
tion, have rendered necessary. ‘This source he considers volcanic;
and that ammonia is formed by that combustion in the bowels of
the earth, which is inferred from the observed escape of air
from the earth, deprived of part of its oxygen. Water thus
decomposed in the earth will yield both oxygen and hydrogen;
‘the former of which uniting to carbon will form carbonic acid ;
and the latter, or hydrogen in its free nascent state (as hydrogen
and nitrogen unite most freely when newly set free), unites to

1841.— VII. 3d Ser. Z

336 Philosophy of Manures.

the nitrogen of the air, and forms ammonia. Aided by the
pressure of the superincumbent strata, ammonia is thus gene-
rated and emitted, like carbonic acid, from fissures in the earth.
Sal ammoniac, or muriate of ammonia, is also largely formed,
he says, among the lava currents recently ejected on the borders
of lakes. Every particle of carbon and ammonia which now
exists in plants and animals, he thinks, may have been originally
evolved from the interior of our globe; and being emitted so
largely in the neighbourhood of volcanoes will account, he
thinks, for the fertility of the lava soils around Naples, as
noticed by Dr. Liebig.* Whilst we reason, he says, that ani-
mals are the source of nitrogen or ammonia to plants, while
these very animals derive their nitrogen from plants, we are
reasoning in a vicious circle; as it brings us to the conclusion
that plants must originally have obtained their food exclusively
from inorganic matter, there being no animals then. ‘The
sources of nitrogen and carbonic acid, at least of their increase
to meet the wants of increasing civilisation, are, therefore, the
emissions of inorganic matter from the earth. On this head, in
the former essay, I stated that nitrogen being partially, to a
small extent, soluble in water, the nitrogen of the air might,
perhaps, form part of that assimilated in the plant; and Pro-
fessor Johnstone, in his first lecture, seems to take the same
view of the subject. Boussingault, the professor states, was of
opinion that leguminous plants inhaled their nitrogen from
the air.

Professor Daubeny says, 50 gallons of gas tar and 70 lb. of
gypsum will produce 60 lb. of sulphate of ammonia, at the cost
of only about 1d. per lb., not half the price of nitrate of soda;
and where the carriage of gypsum is high, vitriol might be
substituted. Where the coals contain much sulphur, there is
likely to be sulphate, as well as carbonate, of ammonia in the gas
tar. The professor, however, seems to be afraid that the mineral
acids, especially if they are set free in quantities, and accumu-
lated in the plant, will act deleteriously on the vegetable tissue;
at all events, as stated in my former essay, the carbonate of
ammonia, if washed into the soil in wet weather, or well diluted
in water in dry weather (especially when the plants are in a
growing state), will not suffer much loss; but, being dissolved in
the water, which is capable of holding several times its own
bulk in solution, will be absorbed by the roots, and thus furnish
both carbon and ammonia. The spirits of tar, mixed with sand,

* Mr. Allen, in his Mineralogy, p. 190., mentions that the hills of the
Island of Lipari, of pumice rocks of volcanic origin, are very barren. Some
further enquiries on this subject seem still needed: there appears much less
alkali in the pumice that forms the hills, than in the obsidian which is found
in the valleys. :

Philosophy of Manures. Bra

and applied so successfully lately by Mr. M‘Intosh at Dalkeith,
owed their effect to the ammonia; which by the smell given off
banished the insects, and, being absorbed by the roots, increased
the vigour of the plants. I have lately seen powerful effects
produced on onions, by sifting soot (a similar substance) on
the beds in wet weather. Im some instances, where the soot
had not sufficed to go over the whole, the precise spot where
the sifting stopped could be pointed out, by the plants that
had got none being at least one third Jess in bulk.* The car-
bonate of ammonia, therefore, though very volatile, if judiciously
managed, should be a very safe and powerful manure; and it
may be preserved in liquid manures by keeping them cool, or by
adding loam or charcoal powder where this cannot be done, to
absorb and retain the ammonia, and give it out again to the
water of the soil. ‘The method advised by Professor Johnstone,
to dilute these manures in great quantities of water, and apply
at different periods of the growth of the plant, points out the true
theory of their action. Ammonia, Professor Daubeny says, in
its caustic state, or unencumbered with acids, will kill plants, if
confined in the air they are growing in, in the proportion of 1
part in 100; hence we see the poisonous nature of fresh unfer-
mented urine, unless very much diluted : when allowed to ferment,
the free ammonia is mostly converted into carbonate, and not so
dangerous unless in excess. ‘The ammonia of the sulphates and
muriates should, when decomposed, as they must be in the
plant, liberate the ammonia in a free state, till again neutralised
by the carbonic acid of the plant, and be a further source of
danger in employing those manures, viz. ammonia united to
mineral acids in large quantities.

On the necessity of Nitrogen, as affecting the strength of plants
and animals, I have seen families of Irish labourers in this town,
who, I was informed, made their sole food to consist of potatoes
and salt three times a day, and, though not so large and weighty
as those fed on more stimulating food, were healthy active men.
This food, I have been informed, is more exclusively prevalent
in the inland districts of Ireland. The stimulating qualities of
“nitrogen seem, therefore, more conducive to bulk than better

* All soots, however, are not beneficial. Having lately recommended soot
as a dressing for onions to a friend in Stranraer, he said any time this had
_been done the whole crop had been destroyed. Peats are generally used
there for fuel; and though the bog they are cut from is two miles from the
sea, yet the ground slopes to it ; and so great is the quantity of sea salt accu-
mulated, that, where these peats are burned in cottages imperfectly finished,
the soot collects on the joists, couples, rafters, and other wood-work of the
house ; and, in wet weather, so great is the quantity of salt contained in the
soot, that it deliquesces with the mofsture (not rain) of the air, and drops in
_ salt (not acid) globules of water. This should convince those who have so
frequently denied that salt is carried to any distance inland,

338 Philosophy of Manures.

health. Manures, therefore, abounding in nitrogen exclusively,
as nitrates of soda and potash, should increase the plant more
by stimulating the tissue to expand in bulk, and abound more in
soft mucilage than ripened starch; unless where there is a due
proportion of carbon already in the soil, and where light and
heat are found in sufficient quantity to elaborate the food of the
plant.

A stimulating food will stimulate the action of the organs,
and may cause greater results from the same quantity of
food. The animal increases in bulk, not according to the
quantity of food swallowed, but according to the activity of the
digestive and absorbent system (the stomach and lacteals), and
assimilating organs. In like manner, the greater activity of the
absorbent and assimilating system of plants should produce
more food, if the carbon and other constituents are present;
but it should be on land otherwise rich, and mixed with
other manures, that ammonia or nitrogen should produce its
full effect. ‘The action of the nitrates has been stated by some
as being stimulating on the matters in the soil, or, rather, they
seem to mean helping to reduce the vegetable matter in the soil,
as lime; but this the nitrates cannot do till separated from the
nitric acid, which neutralises them, perhaps by being decomposed
in the plant, and again excreted. ‘Their principal benefit, in the
first place, is likely to arise from furnishing nitrogen, a stimulat-
ing food, to the plant; and they should, as before observed, be
mixed with other manures, or applied to otherwise rich land, to
produce their full and proper effect. Mr. Locke, gardener to
Archibald Hamilton, Esq., of Roselle, informs me that these
manures have been largely experimented on, in various ways,
both on the farm and in the garden at Roselle this year; and
to the public spirit of that gentleman we are likely to be
indebted for some interesting information on this head.

Professor Daubeny seems still doubtful as to the truth of the
theory of the Excretions of Plants by the Roots; and Professor
Lindley lately, in the Chronicle, seems to participate in the same
opinion. I mentioned in my former essay that I considered
the decreasing quantity of alkali in wheat, as it ripened, a proof
of the excretory theory being correct. If we allow that the
roots imbibe every thing soluble in water, which is now gene-
rally conceded *, we must admit that much will be taken up which
cannot be assimilated in the plant; much, also, of what is capa-
ble of being assimilated, when in certain proportions, will often

* Carbonic acid will pass through some membranes, as bladders, that will
not allow hydrogen to pass; and spirits of wine and water are similarly
situated. A discriminating power has been inferred in the tissue of the
spongiole from this; but all substances fairly dissolved, not suspended only,
in water, should pass along with the water.

Philosophy of Manures. 339

be found in excess; and how is this excess and superfluous
matter to be got rid of? Water, and even acids, may be
evaporated ; but how will lime and other alkalies and earths be
expelled, unless by excretion? If silicate of potash, for in-
stance, is in greater quantity in the water absorbed by plants
than they require, it must be again returned. If we admit any
of these are excreted, we must allow a general excretory power
of all soluble substances when in excess; otherwise plethora
would be producéd, if the excess were deposited and not extri-
cated.

On the views entertained by Professor Liebig, of the Carbon
of Plants being exclusively got from the atmosphere by the
leaves, and only the fixed ingredients by the roots, Professor
Daubeny, at p.65., seems to lean to the contrary opinion.
Professor DeCandolle, in his Vegetable Physzology, lately trans-
lated and published in the Gardener’s Gazette, says that leaves,
and all the epidermis of plants, will, under certain circumstances,
absorb nutriment, as will animals sometimes by the skin (life
has sometimes been preserved for a time by immersion in
soups); but he altogether repudiates the idea of plants drawing
the principal part of their food from the air. Dr. Carpenter, in
his excellent work lately published on Comparative Physiology,
says that the lower orders of plants, as A’lgz, &c., are like
some of the lower orders of animals, altogether composed of an
absorbent substance on the whole surface; but, in the higher
orders of plants and animals, he considers the absorbent surface
as confined to the newly formed spongioles of the roots, and the
lacteal absorbent vessels of the animal. The principal part of the
carbon of plants, however, he considers, is derived from the atmo-
sphere, by the leaves inhaling it by the green parts or by the sto-
mata, as in respiration. Carbonic oxide may be thus inhaled, as
well as carbonic acid. The opinions of theorists appear very unde-
cided on this subject. As I stated in my former essay, Dr. Liebi
considers the young plant to get its carbon principally by the roots,
but to lose this power as it advances in age; though without
stating how the constantly renewed young spongioles, always in
the growing season presenting a newly formed absorbing surface,
possessing all the vital energy inherent in newly formed tissue,
can ever lose the property of conveying all the constituents of
the food of plants. On this subject I enlarged so much
before, that I have not opportunity to say much now. I still
hold by the opinion, that practice cannot be so far wrong in
burying such quantities of carbon in the earth. Manure spread
on the ground, though in great measure preserved by the carbon
being washed into the soil by rain, has not produced the same
effect as that buried to a moderate depth, not out of the action
of the heat and air. From the great quantity of carbonic acid

340 Philosophy of Manures.

formed in the earth by eremacausis, or the slow action of the
oxygen of the air; from its being soluble in such large quantity
in the water of the soil, aided by the absorbent powers of the
particles of soil themselves; from its known specific gravity,
inclining it to accumulate in greatest quantity at the surface of
the ground; and from the action of every shower of rain in
washing all the gaseous substances of the air, soluble in water,
into the soil, carbonic acid should abound much more in the
soil than the air. All gaseous and fluid substances have a
tendency to mix together to a certain extent, from a weaker or
stronger affinity that they have for one another, though this
affinity may not always reach the amount of what is called
chemical. At the head of this list stands the affinity between
the oxygen and nitrogen of the air, which is still a matter of
dispute, whether chemical or not. Oil has a very slight affinity
for water, yet it may be mixed to a certain extent; but heat will
again lessen this weak affinity, and the lighter oil will swim on
the top. Agitation is sufficient to loosen some very weak affini-
ties. Carbonic acid has a pretty strong affinity for atmospheric
air, as it has been found on high mountains; but this weak
affinity is liable to be disturbed beth by heat and agitation. It
rises also very slowly in the atmosphere. In Mr. Dalton’s ex-
periments, a phial of atmospheric air was inverted, with the
mouth open, over an open phial of carbonic acid, the external
air being excluded: at the end of one hour no trace of carbonic
acid was found in the upper phial, and it was three hours before
it could be said to be found to have arisen plentifully among
the atmospheric air. When the experiment is reversed, and
the air phial below, the carbonic acid goes to the bottom at
once; and though hydrogen will go down through carbonic
acid, it is only from its superior affinity. On all these accounts,
and for the reasons stated in our former essay, on the supe-
rior growth of trees divested of their buds to those divested
of their fibres, &c., I still adhere to my old-fashioned opinions,
till I can see better reasons for changing.

Dr. Carpenter’s opinions on the Causes of Reproduction or
fruitfulness in animals and plants are different from those of
Professor Liebig. The latter supposed it to be caused by
accumulation of nutriment. Dr. Carpenter supposes two anta-
gonist principles in living beings: one uérztzve, causing the
animal or plant to increase in bulk; the other reproductive,
which begins to act only when the other has come to maturity ;
and that this maturity is sooner arrived at in starved plants and
poorly fed people, who have generally more and healthier off-
spring than the rich. This opinion certainly agrees more with
observation than that of Dr. Liebig; but the antagonist princi-
ples are only imaginary, and we see no reason why poverty

Philosophy of Manures. 341

should be required to be brought forward as the cause of fruit-
fulness. Poor people, who are diseased or unsound in their
general health, will have diseased offspring also; it can only be
the labourer, whom necessary exercise, plain, wholesome food,
and freedom from excessive care, have furnished with a healthy
and vigorous body, who can produce a healthy offspring. Plants
also differ from animals, in every plant being a congeries or
system of individuals, and not a single isolated being; every
joint, every bud can be converted into a separate existence; and
it seems to depend on the quality of food furnished, whether this
bud shall remain on the plant, and produce an extension of the
system, or be perfected into the form of a seed, the germ of a
new system of individuals.

Experiments on the Germination of Seeds, quoted some time
ago in this Magazine from the Annals of Philosophy, I think, as
made by a Mr. Taylor, and lately brought forward by Dr.
Horner in the Chronicle, show that the different rays of the
spectrum have very different effects in furthering germination :
the violet, or deoxidising, end of the spectrum having a power-
ful effect in furthering germination ; the red, or oxidising, end
destroying it altogether. This is a further proof of the benefit
of alkalies in germination. In my essay on that subject in the
Magazine for 1838, and in the review of the Theory of Horti-
culture last year, I stated that the experiments of M. Maltuen,
on seeds placed at the negative, or alkaline, pole of a battery
furthering germination, and the reverse at the positive pole, had
led him to try the germination of seeds in phials of alkalies and
acids, which produced the same results as the violet and red
rays above quoted. The violet, or deoxidising, ray, the negative,
or alkaline, pole of a galvanic wire, and the exhibiting of alkalies
themselves, are apparently different ways of arriving at the same
result, but are all conducted on one principle. ‘Che presence of
oxygen causes acidity, and the separation of it produces an
alkaline state of the substance acted on; the violet ray and the
negative pole are therefore alkaline, the red ray and the positive
pole acid. Either of the methods will, therefore, if in equal
quantity, produce the same result. I formerly stated that I had
used lime as a cheap alkali, and as its being further useful in
withdrawing a portion of the carbon necessary to be withdrawn
in reducing the starch, the food of the young plants, to a solu-
ble state. I there mentioned the result of the application, which
was sufficient to confirm me in the correctness of the principle.
I have had no seed of the same description since to operate on ;
in fact, it is difficult to say when it is in a fit state, how far the
moisture necessary to preserve the excitability, or life, of the
tissue in the young embryo may be withdrawn, before death, or
the loss of excitability, ensues. After this, every stimulus ap-

342 Philosophy of Manures.

plied will only hasten decomposition. What would have been
a stimulus to the living power, in preparing food, and exciting it
to act upon it, will, after death, only hasten its destruction. I
have since tried it frequently on fresh seeds, and found it gene-
rally to have the effect of accelerating their growth. In the
Mark Lane Express of April 5., a correspondent states that,
having steeped his mangold wurzel seed in water last year, he
dried some of it in lime powder, and found that this came up
three or four days before the other, and kept the lead, increasing
more in bulk all the year round. ‘This is an accidental proof of
the theory being correct, produced without any preconceived
opinions.

There has been so much said lately on the different Modes of
Heating, that the subject is well nigh exhausted. The subjoined
remarks I do not recollect to have seen made yet. Having seen
none of the houses fitted up in any of these new methods,
the remarks are merely theoretical, The uneasy sensation
felt in some stoves, I think, should arise more from the want of
moisture, than the want of motion, in the air. In very dry
sultry weather, out of doors, we experience something of the
same sensation; but, no sooner does the moisture of approach-
ing rain begin to be suffused in the atmosphere, than the uneasy
sensation leaves us. ‘The air, in a dry state, is a bad conductor
of electricity; and we are in something of the condition of a
_ person standing on a glass stool, and charged with electricity :
when the air becomes moist, the superabundance of electricity
is conducted away, moist air being a good conductor, and the
uneasy sensation goes off. Stagnant air, no doubt, will be pre-
judicial: but to a certain extent there is motion in the air in
all houses of the kind, from the tendency of heated air to
ascend, and of the colder to descend. I think it would have
been an improvement in Mr. Penn’s method to have made the
cold air descend at the back of the house, and the heated air to
ascend at the front: a stratum of heated air would thus always
have been interposed between the cold atmosphere and the
plants, and danger of frost been much less. The mouths of
the drains for carrying on the circulation of the air should have
been level with the surface of the ground, or as nearly so as
possible ; because, whatever cold air passes the mouth of the
drain will not rise again, unless there are some pipes or flues
near the surface to heat it; and the air in the drains should be
as much heated as possible to near the mouth, to keep up the
rarefaction of the air inside the drain, and consequent pressure
of that outside. ‘There should be no water in the drains, as it
will lessen the rarefaction; it would be better to have the water
in troughs above the pipes. Where bark pits are in the house,
pipes or drains should be run through the bed: the heat will

Philosophy of Manures. 343

keep up a constant rarefaction and draught; and the mouth of
all drains or pipes, for circulation of air, should be as wide-
expanded as possible. ‘The chambers in which the pipes are
confined are improper, because the stratum of heated air con-
fined prevents both the conduction and radiation of heat. Ina
brisk cold wind out of doors, Professor Leslie found the heat
carried off by conduction, owing to the constantly recurring
contact of cold air, nearly equal to that of radiation; but in an
atmosphere of confined air, if perfectly confined, and of the
same heat as the iron itself, there will be no conduction at all.
Iron is a much better conductor than radiator of heat, and there
must be great loss in thus stopping nearly all the conduction of
heat. Professor Leslie’s experiments also pointed out that the
effects of radiation on the differential thermometer diminished
in proportion as the air of the room was heated. As the radia-
tion of the thermometer itself would be less as the room was
heated, the difference would even be greater than that exhibited.
By surrounding the pipes with a stratum of confined air, we
thus diminish incalculably the effects of the pipes. Were the
pipes left free, or even in close contact with the masonry, with-
out a stratum of confined air intervening, the heat produced
would be greatly augmented. All iron pipes in houses should
be coated with lampblack. Professor Leslie found that, when
the radiating power of lampblack was estimated at 100, that of
polished iron was only 15; and though rough cast iron, and
rusted, will be much more, it will not have half the radiating
power of lampblack. ‘The power of water to radiate heat is
equal to lampblack ; and, on this account, as also on account of
its simplicity, and the abundant source of moisture it supplies, I
think the open-gutter system of Corbett will excel all others, for
plant-structures at least. For fruiting-houses, the covers to the
gutters should be made to fit as closely to the water as possible,
when it is necessary to have dry air; as, if the water does not .
touch the conveying-tube in all quarters, the confined air gene-
rated in the empty space inside will always cause a loss of heat,
in proportion to its surface. Of what use is it to carry the
heated water past the nonconducting stratum of air, to be again
deposited in the boiler? As the heated smoke and air around
boilers, when allowed to escape from a chimney head, must
cause a great loss of heat, I think the plan of W. H., lately
stated in the Magazine, to combine a smoke-flue and pipes of
heated water in the same house, should be productive of a good
deal of economy.
Kilmarnock, May 21. 1841.

344 Notice of a Visit to Whitfield.

Art. II. Notice of a Visit to Whitfield. By J. B. W.

WuitrIE.p, the seat of E. B. Clive, Esq., M. P., is about seven
miles south-west of Hereford, on the skirt of the rich valley
through which the beautiful river Wye flows. Although
standing on elevated ground, the views from the house towards
the east and west are limited by intervening hills, but in a
northern direction the fine valley of the Wye is partially seen ;
towards the south, also, a pretty peep is obtained along the park,
which on one side is bounded by a beautiful oak wood that
covers a long ridge, and has an exceedingly good effect when
viewed from any part of the grounds. ‘The house is of brick,
small, but very neat, and apparently kept in the best order.
There are rather extensive grounds, through which the ap-
proach road descends to the house, a defect which in this case
could not be remedied without altermg the whole arrangement.
Another fault in these grounds is the tasteless disposition of the
trees and shrubs, which have evidently been stuck about without
any consideration of their future effect. At the entrance to the
grounds, the road passes through a grove of lanky forest trees,
of the commonest kinds; which, on the one side of the road, serve
no purpose except a partial concealment of the house and lawn,
and are in themselves extremely unsightly. On the south front,
a portion is separated from the lawn by an iron fence: this part
contains a few beds for flowers, and some ornamental shrubs ; and
being several feet higher than the park, it forms a sort of terrace
on that side. Unfortunately, however, a farm road passes close
beneath the boundary, in full view of the windows of the living-
rooms. A pond on the north front, partially hidden by trees
and shrubs, has probably a pretty effect from the upper windows.

The kitchen-garden is a short distance from the house; it is
situated in a sheltered spot, and has the advantage of sloping
gently to the south; but the soil is a very strong clay, and con-
sequently not well adapted for a garden. On entering from the
pleasure-ground, through the north wall of the kitchen-garden,
there are three plant-houses; the central one an upright-fronted
greenhouse in the old style, and the two wings neat and well
contrived structures, lately built under the direction of Mr.
Wood, the gardener. In one of these there is a stage, in the
other a bark-bed for forcing flowers. In front of these houses
an uncommonly large maiden-hair tree is growing, which I
judged to be upwards of 20 ft. high, and nearly 4 ft. in cireum-
ference at the largest part of the trunk. A broad walk goes
down the middle of the garden, with a flower border on each
side, backed by an iron espalier rail, much of the same plan as
that figured and described by Mr. Booth in this Magazine.

Burning of Soils, as a Means of improving them. 845

This walk leads to a slip in which are several vineries and a
peach-house. In the vineries the successional system of training
is practised, and I understand they grow superior grapes. ‘The
melon-ground, and the space for common fruits, are on the east
side of the kitchen-garden, where, also, it is intended to build a
brick wall for the cultivation of the Flemish pears. Some of the
trellising described and recommended by me in this Magazine
has lately been set up, but with iron cross pieces instead of wood.
Both Mr. Wood and Mr. Smith of Garnstone disapprove of
these trellises; alleging that, as the fruit always hangs in the
shade beneath the trellis, it does not acquire its proper flavour.
Jan. 20. 1840.

Art. III. Burning of Soils, as a Means of improving them.
By Joun Fisu.

Some soils are greatly improved by burning. In the North of
Scotland this has become quite a trade. A three-edged spade
is used, with a handle 9 ft. in length, and a cross head-piece 3 ft.
in breadth. ‘This is used for pushing forward, principally by
the thighs. The turf is turned over 1 ft. in width, to the depth
of 2 or 3 inches. When the turfs are somewhat dried, they are
piled up in heaps, and burnt upon the ground. The richness
imparted will depend upon the quality and quantity of the ashes.
They should not be burnt too much, as it destroys their good-
ness. ‘Those which calcine freely are considered best. Burning
in small heaps is preferable to large ones. As soon as the ashes
are cold, they should be spread equally over the ground (with
the exception of the places where the heaps stand), and ploughed
in immediately. Frequent ploughing and harrowing should be
given, until the necessary depth and texture are obtained for
the intended crop. What escapes the harrow should be well
broken with wooden mallets.

As soon as the crop is cleared, the ground should be ploughed
again, and exposed to the atmosphere. Lands improved by these
means generally prove productive for a number of years. The
soils most benefited are strong clays, and those containing an
excess of inert vegetable matter. ‘The carbonaceous matter con-
tained in the ashes is more beneficial to the crop than the
vegetable fibre from which it was produced, as the injurious acid
is destroyed by burning. In a situation I have lived in the soil
of the garden was a strong adhesive clay. A piece of this I had
thrown up in December, in ridges, to the depth of 23 ft., laying
it a little hollow to form a cavity underneath each ridge, and in
this there was no difficulty, as the pieces might be built with like
stones. In this cavity some cinders and small coals were placed,
and fire set to them in March. This was spread out as soon as

$46 Snails and Slugs considered

burned, and dug over. In April it was trenched, mixing a
quantity of road and drift sand during the process; and by the
beginning of May it was in a fit state to receive seeds of any de-
scription. It was thrown into beds 4 ft. wide. The beds were
raked both before and after sowing, the operator standing in the
alleys between them, as I considered it injurious to set a foot
upon the beds. ‘This was sown with carrots, five rows in the
bed, and a beautiful crop produced, better than had been seen
for ten years previously.
Exotic Nursery, King’s Road, May 22. 1841.

Art. IV. Snails and Slugs considered with reference to Horticulture.
By J. G.

Tue only snail which interests the gardener is the Helix aspérsa
of naturalists; for that which they have named the garden snail
(H. horténsis) is rather a field than a garden species. The
former is much the larger of the two, and has a dull shell,
marked with three faint mottled brownish bands, and a white
rim round the aperture; while the shell of the latter is glossy,
distinctly banded with vivid colours, and the oral rim is brown.

The slugs which frequent the garden are, the Limax agréstis,
ZL. cinéreus, and Z. ater. The ZL. agréstis is the commonest, of
a greyish colour, and from 1 in. to 2m. long; the Z. cinereus is,
on the contrary, from 3 in. to 5 in. in length, of a greyish or
dusky colour, with darker spots and stripes; and the Z. ater
is easily known by the jet black and wrinkled skin of its back.

Snails and slugs agree generally in shape and in their other
characteristics; but the body of the snail is protected with a
shell, while the slug is naked. They have four tentacula placed
in front of the head, and which, by a singular process of in-
version, can be drawn entirely within it: the superior pair are
always the longest, and they carry near the tips, but a little on
one side, each a small eye, by which the animals distinguish
objects nigh at hand; with the inferior pair they feel and try
the road which they have to travel. Between and under this
pair is situated the mouth, guarded by two swollen lips, in which,
perhaps, the sense of taste may reside. ‘The mouth is armed
above with a semilunar horny jaw, placed transversely, and
having its outer or cutting edge furnished with one or several
serratures. Within the mouth, stretched upon a protuberant,
fleshy, buccal mass, the tongue is laid, shaped somewhat like
the bowl of a spoon, and consisting of a thin membrane reticu-
lated in a manner so exquisitely regular and minute, that no one
can examine it without admiration; so that we recommend it as
a microscopic object to those who are fond of that instrument.

with reference to Horticulture. 347

On the right side, or neck, of the slug and snail there are three
apertures. “The largest, which is the respiratory orifice, is situ-
ated at the edge of the shield: the second is at the posterior
and upper margin of this first orifice; it is the anus: the third
is either placed directly under the pulmonary opening, or imme-
diately,behind the upper tentaculum; it is the exit for the organs
of generation.” (Nunnely.)

The skin is soft, and lubricated with a viscid mucus, which is
secreted most copiously when the animals are in motion, and,
running down on the ground, it serves to smooth the way, and
leaves a glistening track behind, which may lead to the discovery
of their retreats. ‘They are strictly gasteropodous, crawling at a
slow pace on the flat sole which constitutes their foot and belly.
This foot is very muscular, and all its fibres aid in the act of
locomotion ; but progression is principally performed by a pair
of muscles which extend from the tail to the fore part, running
along the middle of the_foot. On opening the cloaks, they are
seen projecting on the interior surface of the foot as two raised
lines, larger before than behind. By putting a slug into a bottle
partly filled with water, the regular contractions of these longi-
tudinal muscles may be distinctly seen, recalling to recollection
the apt comparison of Swammerdam — “ following each other
like the waves and billows of the sea.”

These animals are hermaphrodite and oviparous. ‘They de-
posit their eggs under clods of earth, loose stones, or in the
ground, in which the parent digs with its foot a circular hole,
about 1 in. deep. The eggs vary from twelve to thirty in
number; they are white, oval or round, about the size of a com-
mon shot, with asmooth soft skin, which is entirely membranous
in the slugs, but in the snails contains innumerable minute cal-
careous grains always in a crystalline state, and usually of a
rhomboidal figure. They are, in ordinary seasons, hatched in
about three weeks after being laid, but the time is regulated
much by temperature, so that in cold seasons it is greatly re-
tarded. ‘The young issue from the egg in the likeness of their
parents, active, and furnished with every organ; and the young
snails have even then a shell fitting their size and strength.

To what length of years the life of a snail or slug is prolonged
has not been determined. From our own observations, we con-
clude that the shell of the snail is usually completed before the
termination of the second year, when the animal may be said to
have reached maturity. It is a gross error to suppose that the
marks on the shell, which indicate the successive stages of its
growth, indicate also the tenant’s age; every space between
two such marks being said to be formed in one season. This is
not the case. These creatures are very patient of injury, recover-
ing after the cruelest wounds; and they are capable of repairing

348 Snails and Slugs considered

their broken shells, and of reproducing such parts of their body as
may have been cut away in the perils to which they are exposed.
In winter they retire under stones and clods, or into crevices
of walls. The slugs become merely less active and more hebetous
than usual, but the snails properly hybernate; and to protect
them from annoyance during this dead sleep, of a winter’s con-
tinuance, they seal up the apertures of their shells with a horny
membrane.

[The natural uses of the snail appear to be, to serve as food
for reptiles, birds, and the smaller quadrupeds, such as foxes,
badgers, weasels, hedgehogs, &c. ‘The blackbird and thrush
are remarkably fond of them; and may be seen flying off with
snails in their bills, and breaking the shells against stones or the
branches of trees. ‘There is some apparent reason for sup-
posing that the worm is more useful than injurious to plants,
but none that we know of as far as respects the snail.

The snail retires under the cover of foliage or some other pro-
tection from the sun and dry air during the day, and comes
abroad to feed during the night, after rain, or when the weather
is cloudy. It selects, in preference, tender seedling plants, or
the leaves of maturer plants which have become tender and
somewhat sweet by incipient decay. Snails are very fond of
greasy matter, and where a snail has been killed by crushing,
its remains atracts numbers to feed on it. About the end of
autumn, when the weather begins to grow cold, the snail retires
into sheltered places, where it will be protected from the weather
during the winter. Where there are evergreens, such as the box
or the ivy, it resorts to them ; or if these are wanting, it will retire
under loose stones, or rubbish of any kind, such as branches,
spray, leaves, or litter ; and, if no other covering presents itself, it
has a power of burying itself in soil not too hard on the surface.

Whatever has been said of the habits of the snail will apply to
those of the slug; and the natural enemies and uses of the two
animals are exactly the same.

To destroy snails in gardens, the only effectual mode is hand-
picking, either in the evening or early in the morning, or
immediately after rain. Empty flower-pots, reversed and dis-
tributed over the surface, if an opening is left on the side, by
making a small depression in the soil, will attract a great number
of snails; and the more so, if some greased cabbage leaves be
placed under the pots. In the course of the autumn, winter, and
early in the spring, all their hiding-places should be searched,
and the animals taken out and destroyed by crushing, or by
giving them to swine, which are said to be very fond of them.
Hedgehogs and weasels, being their natural enemies, may be
kept in gardens; and poultry which do not scratch, such as
the turkey, ducks, &c., may be admitted occasionally ; though

with reference to Horticulture. 349

no mode of subduing the snail but hand-picking is to be de-
pended on.

Slugs in gardens are destroyed with less labour than snails;
because, their bodies being comparatively unprotected, they are
liable to be operated on by any caustic or bitter liquid as readily
as worms. Cabbage leaves in a state of incipient decay, with
the side which is to be placed next the soil rubbed over with
greasy matter of any kind, or even with the bruised bodies of
recently killed slugs, distributed over any surface, will attract
them in great numbers during the nights; and if the blades are
examined every morning, and the slugs which are found de-
stroyed, the piece of ground so treated will soon be freed from
them. Pea haulm being very sweet when in a state of incipient
decay, forms a powerful attraction to slugs; and if handfuls of
it are distributed over a piece of ground in the same manner as
cabbage leaves, the little heaps of haulm may be examined
every morning, and the slugs shaken from them, and then de-
stroyed by watering with lime-water. ‘Thin slices of turnips or
potatoes, placed under inverted empty flower-pots, form an excel-
lent attraction, as do the dead bodies of slugs themselves, some
parts, or the whole of which are greedily devoured by the living
animals. Where slugs are very abundant in a soil not covered
with plants so large as to shelter them, as for example, with
rising seeds, the slugs may be destroyed by watering the soil
thoroughly with lime-water or tobacco-water, late in the evening
or early in the morning. Abundance of water should be applied,
in order that it may sink into the soil, which the slugs penetrate
1 ft. or more in depth, according to its state of pulverisation.
Quicklime has been laid round plants to protect them from
snails and slugs, but it soon becomes mild, and of no use as a
protection. Coal ashes and sawdust annoy slugs by sticking to
their feet, but they will not be deterred by this annoyance so
effectually as to starve for want of food. Soot is also a great
annoyance to slugs; but, to keep them from a plant, it requires
to be frequently and liberally renewed. ‘“* A stout, coarse, horse-
hair line, such as is used for hanging clothes out to dry, coiled
round the stems of wall-fruit trees, and stretched along the wall
will operate as a protection to the fruits from both snails and
slugs, in consequence of the bristly surface presented to them,
and which they shrink from encountering. Care, must, of course
be taken that they do not get under it.” (Penny Cyc., Limax.)

No gardener ought to rest content with merely protecting his
plants or fruits from snails or slugs; because, while they are in
the garden, as they must live, if they are debarred from attacking
one plant they will only have recourse to another. Nothing
short of extermination, therefore, ought to satisfy him; and this
he may accomplish by enticing the larger slugs into empty pots,

350 Szmple Mode of taking the Height of Trees.

or under cabbage leaves or haulm, and by soaking thoroughly
with lime-water the soil which he supposes to contain young
slugs or eggs. ]

Art. V. Notice of a-simple Mode of taking the Height of Trees.
Communicated by J. B. W.

DivipeE a square staff (a 6, fig. 49.) of about 7 or 8 feet in length
into feet and inches, for the convenience of measuring the dis-
tance between the place of observation and the
tree, or taking any other dimensions. Upon one
side of this staff, at a commodious distance from
the bottom, fix a rectangular board (c d ef ) whose
length (d e) is exactly equal to twice its breadth
(c d) which breadth may be about 4 or 5 inches.
At ¢ and d fix sights, or small iron pins, and also
at ¢ and e, making d g and ge each equal to ¢ d.
Then, when the top of a tree is seen through
the sights at c and g, the tree’s height is equal to
your distance from its bottom added to the height
of your eye; but if seen through the sights at c
and e, its height is equal to twice your distance
from its bottom, adding the same height as be-
fore. In making an observation with this in-
strument, it ought to be fixed perpendicularly
to the horizon, which may be done by means
of a plummet suspended from n. In taking the
altitude of a tree growing upon an inclined plane,
you must endeavour to make your observations
from a place upon a level with the bottom of
the tree. If this cannot be done, direct the ho-
rizontal sights at ¢ and d towards the lower part
of the tree, and let your assistant make a mark
upon it; then find the height of the tree above
this mark, as before, to which add the distance of
the mark from the ground, which must, in this
case, be considered the height of the eye, and Heo

the sum will be the height of the tree. Measuring Staff:

June 10. 1841.

Art. VI. Designs for laying out a Suburban Residence. By the
ConDUCTOR.

THE situation for which the design jg. 50. is intended is near
Shepherd’s Bush, and forms part of what was till lately an ex-
tensive brick field. The soil is a strong retentive clay, and its

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1841.— VIL. 3d Ser.

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352 Design for a Suburban Residence.

surface is nearly level, and somewhat lower than the adjoining
public road, though it admits ofa certain degree of drainage.

In forming a design for laying out this piece of ground, we
have adopted the geometrical style, as most suitable to all the
given circumstances ; and, in order to render it as open and airy
as the situation will admit, we have introduced very few tall trees.
All the best part of the soil we have directed to be laid on the
surface of what is to form the kitchen-gardens and orchard ; and
the flower-garden, or rather American garden, is formed into a
sunk panel, surrounded by an elevated terrace walk, from
which the descent is by four flights of steps. The sloping sides
of the terrace, and also the four triangular forms in the panel,
are supposed to be of turf. The outer row of beds, of a semi-
circular form, are intended for annuals and China roses; the six
beds in the interior for rhododendrons, azaleas, kalmias, and
similar American and peat-earth shrubs; and the six small beds
in the angles for Magnolia macrophylla, tripétala, acuminata,
auriculata, conspicua, and Soulangeana.

The trees on each side of the entrance are chiefly fruit trees,
and hence we have called it the orchard, with some hollies of
different kinds, box, and yew intermixed. ‘The walls which sur-
round the kitchen-gardens are planted with fruit trees, the
bottom of the border being rendered impervious to their roots
by brick rubbish; and the wall which surrounds the terrace is
planted with creepers, climbers, and roses, and with other plants
requiring the protection of a wall, or improved by it, such as
Cratz‘gus mexicana, Cydonia sinénsis, Latirus nobilis, Mag-
nolza grandiflora and its different varieties, Magnolza purpurea,
Salisburza adiantifolia, Amygdalus incana, A/rbutus Andrachne,
Bérberis dulcis, Ceanothus azureus, Chimondnthus fragrans, and
various others. ‘The soil of both the kitchen-garden and orchard
will be rendered light by burnt lumps of clay intermixed with it
in a state of powder; and that of the flower-garden rendered fit
for American plants by a mixture of sand and peat.

The great object has been to Jay out and plant this place in
such a manner as to admit of its being kept in good order at
very little expense. For this reason the edgings to all the walks
are of brick moulded on purpose, and the platform on which the
house stands, and all the walks throughout both gardens, are
proposed to be paved with asphalte. Two grand sources of
labour, and when neglected of an appearance of disorder and
slovenliness, are thus avoided ; and the labour may be still farther
lessened by planting the steep slopes of the terrace, and the four
triangles, which are proposed to be in turf, with box; which, in-
stead of requiring to be mown at least twelve times in the course
of the year, need not be mown or clipped more than once. Box
thus used as a substitute for turf cannot be walked on; but in

Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 353

such situations as the turf is shown in, in this design, walking
on it is not contemplated.

By these arrangements, though this plot of ground contains in
all above ten acres, it is presumed, as there is no glass, that it
might be kept in order by two men.

Art. VII. The Landscape-Gardening of F. L. von Schell of Munich.
Translated from the German for the “ Gardener’s s Magazine.”

I. General Observations on the Modern Natural Style of Gardening, with some
Remarks on the Ancient Symmetrical Style.

1. AurHoucu the present style of gardening is, for the greater
part, governed by the rules of art, it no longer rasan les that
of former times, when all the forms it exhibited were obliged to
be regulated by the strictest laws of uniformity.

Nature is the model for the present style of gardening ;
her very various and innumerable scenes which omamnent the
earth’s surface now adorn our gardens, without the smallest
trace of a slavish imitation being necessary. Art is now in
unison with these natural scenes in producing many of the land-
scapes in our gardens, and which, when arranged with taste,
form a pleasing whole; and this whole, rich in rine assemblage
of many foreign trees, shrubs, and flowers, and ornamented
with the ancient and modern styles of architecture, forms a
garden, in which Nature displays her festive attire, and which
cannot be seen beyond its limits.

2. It is not my intention to make a full comparison between
the ancient geometric and the present natural styles of garden-
ing, Ihecamse, | in that case, I should only be repeating whee many
authors have said before me; I have only to observe that the
natural garden, besides being in far better taste than the ancient
geometric style, is much less expensive, both in its formation
and future management; and is also much more useful than
the ancient artistical gardens, as may be seen from what
follows.

3. The piece of ground intended for such a geometric gar-
den must, in the first place, be levelled at oreat expense, if
nature has adorned it with hill and valley ; those trees which
do not stand in rows must be felled; and the winding brooks
metamorphosed into straight canals; whereas the present state
of gardening gratefully receives and makes use of these and
all other natural gifts and beauties.

The old symmetrical style of gardening, however, such as
was exemplified in the gardens spoken of by Curtius and
Strabo, in the gardens of Alcinous, and in that of the younger

AA 2

354 Schell’s Landscape- Gardening.

Pliny, has its advantages, and ought not, therefore, to be entirely
set aside.

Majestic avenues, when laid out in the spirit of Le Notre, in
large proportions, in populous cities, for public promenades, in
which an artistical and suitable uniformity is preserved ; or those
forming an approach to a palace, not only present an imposing
scene of splendour and luxury, but constitute a part of the lordly
domain which the inhabitant devotes to the exercise and social
intercourse of his guests. ‘Thus, the pedestrian may walk about
as he pleases in such long unvaried avenues without the ne-
cessity of turning his eyes to either side, which he is generally
tempted to do in the case of serpentine walks, and by this means
loses the aspect of the assembled whole.

4. The geometric style of gardening is also of unavoidable
application in botanic gardens, nurseries, in flower and kitchen-
gardens, and in orchards. Regular forms only are applicable
for such gardens, because they only are generally suitable for
their object.

5. In other respects, it is scarcely credible how such a taste
in gardening, which displayed so many trifling and unnatural
forms, could have existed, and be even followed and admired for
centuries. How is it possible that the educated man could so
long cherish and applaud this artistical style of gardening, on
comparing it with nature to which it fundamentally belongs ?
[It formed a contrast to nature, and was a mark of art and
refinement.] What an opposite impression must the prepos-
terously ornamented box parterres, with their edges cut to the
shape of walls, and the mutilated trees which the shears never
permitted to bring forth their blossoms, have produced, in com-
parison with those trees of a free and natural growth, which
unfolded their beautiful and romantic forms, and seemed. to
rejoice in their blossoms and fruit. A tree, according to the
ancient geometric style of gardening, as Schiller says, “must
conceal its organic nature, so that art may display itself in its
natural body. It must give up its beautiful substantial form for
a spiritless mass of uniformity, and its light waving growth for
an appearance of solidity, such as can only be desirable in stone
walls.”

6. The contrast is equally great between an architectural and
a natural waterfall, or between a basin or canal regularly sur-
rounded by hewn freestone, and a free and unrestrained natural
brook, of which Bernis, as beautifully as truly, thus expresses
himself: —

“ Ce ruisseau, l'amour de Zephire,
Qui du voile des cieux reflechissoit l’azure,
Et de Flore autrefois embellissoit empire,

Captif dans un bassin de marbre, ou de porphyr,
N’est plus si clair, ni si pur.

Arboricultural Notices. 355

Esclave de l’art, qui l’enchaine,

Dans sa prison superbe, il serpente avec peine ;
Libre autrefois dans ses longues erreurs,

Il embrassoit, il arosoit, la plaine,

Et donnoit en fuyant la vie 4 mille fleurs.” *

7. But this comparison of beautiful nature did as little to set
aside the stiff style of gardening as either Bacon or Milton in his
inimitable description of Paradise, the beautiful descriptions of
the gardens of Armida, or the directions laid down by Ad-
dison and Pope. It was reserved for Kent alone to venture on
the first celebrated transition of laying out gardens according to
the laws of nature; and he was soon followed by the most dis-
tinguished writers on the subject, such as Home, Mason,
Whately, Chambers, Watelet, Gilpin, Burke, Hirschfeld,
De Lille, Repton, &c., who also so much supported this new
and natural style of gardening by their numerous writings, that
it became, at least in Kurope, the most prevailing style in use.
In order to prove the difficulty of setting aside the ancient style
of gardening, and replacing it by the natural, true, and beau-
tiful style, I refer my readers to the first volume of the Art of
Gardening, by Hirschfeld, in quarto, in which this subject is
faithfully, historically, and very ably treated.

( To be continued. )

Art. VIII. Arboricultural Notices.

Conifer@.

THE pendulous Larch in the garden at Henham, in Suffolk, was purchased of a
nurseryman about the year 1800, being then one or two years old. At the
height of eight feet it spreads horizontally, without the aid of artificial means.
About, thirty years since supports became necessary. The main branches,
extending north and south, form a covered way more than 80 ft. in length, and
16 ft. in width ; a third branch extends westerly about 8 ft. ; a gravel walk being
under the tree ; on the eastern side it forms a perfect curtain to the ground,
and the same on the western side. It is in great beauty from the Ist of May
till the middle of September, — 7. B. May 1.1840. ,

Immense Forests of Larch cover the Aldan Mountains, and attain on them
an absolute elevation, which shows how little their growth is affected by the
winter’s cold. Noble trees stand at a height of 3500 feet above the sea, an
elevation at which it would be vain to think of rearing them in the much
milder climate of the British Islands. In the same situation, snow fell heavily
on the 13th of May. (Adolphe Ermann’s Travels round the Earth ; as quoted in
Atheneum, Jan. 26, 1829.)

A Larch at Haining in Selkirkshire, in February, 1837, measured 114 ft.
in circumference at 1 ft. from the ground. It was planted about 1735, and,
consequently, was nearly a century old. — R. Pringle. August, 1838.

*[This brook which before reflected the heavens, and embellished the earth
with flowers, become imprisoned in a basin of marble or porphyry, is no longer
either pure or clear: the slave of the art which enchains it in its superb
prison, it scarcely moves; while formerly it meandered through extensive
plains, watering them, and giving birth in its course to thousands of flowers.]

AA 3

356 LBotanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices.

Aceracc@.

A common Sycamore in the churchyard of Kilmore, and which shades the
grave of the persecuted Bishop Bedell, had, in 1838, 12 ft. in circumference,
and extended its gigantic arms in every direction. (MMant’s Hist. of the Church
of Ireland ; as quoted in the Times of Jan. 3. 1840.)

Pomacee.

A Medlar (Méspilus germanica L.) now growing in the pleasure-ground
of Carlton Hall, Snaith, Yorkshire, formerly the seat of the late Miles Sta-
pleton, Esq., but now of the Right Honourable Lord Beaumont, has a stem
which, at the height of 4 ft., girts 3 ft. 6 in.; the total height is 20 ft., and the
extent of the head from east to west is 34 ft. It bears several bushels of
fruit annually, and would have been a much larger and finer tree, were it not
in the immediate neighbourhood of some very large oaks. — James Seymour.
Ashridge Gardens, Nov. 1840.

Corylacee.

American Oaks of various species succeed in poor siliceous soil, though but
indifferently in poor caleareous land; witness the American oaks in the poor
sandy soil of the Bois de Boulogne. (Michauz.)

Quércus pedunculata.—A specimen, of unknown age, in the village of Cret-
tingham in Suffolk, is 19 yards in circumference at the surface of the ground.
The trunk is hollow, and a man on horseback may ride through it, or three
cows with their calves may stand within it. In height it is not above 30 or
40 ft. — Cond.

An Oak at Fairnalie, Selkirkshire, measures, at 1 ft. from the ground,
143 ft. in circumference, and contains 359 ft. of timber. — R. Pringle. Au-
gust, 1838. °

The Beech thrives in a calcareous soil better than in any other, but it must
always be somewhat moist; whereas, the elm thrives in calcareous soil which
is perfectly dry. (Poitteau.)

Salicacea.

Poplars succeed best in loamy soils, and next in such as are siliceous, while
there are only a few that thrive in soils that are calcareous. Among the
latter are, Populus virginiana, commonly called in France the Swiss Poplar.
(Poiteau.)

A Black Poplar in Clifton Park, Roxburghshire, measures 17 ft. in cireum-
ference at 1 ft. from the ground, — R. Pringle. August, 1838.

Ulmacee.

U’Imus campéstris at Nettlecombe Court, Somersetshire, planted in 1770,
contains 480 ft. of timber, having 300 ft. in the trunk, and 180 ft. in the top
and branches. — James Babbage. Nettlecombe Court, Oct. 9. 1839.

A specimen of this tree at Saling in Essex is 114 ft. high, 30 ft. in circum-
ference at the ground, 19 ft. at 2 ft. from the ground, and at 5 ft. high 17 ft.
Gin, It isa remarkably handsome tree, with the branches well balanced on
each side, and in vigorous growth. Mr, Jukes, who made drawings for our
Arboretum of the large elms in the park at Studley Royal, says, he never saw
anywhere an elm so handsome as that at Saling. — Cond.

Art. 1X. Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices of
the Kinds of Planis newly introduced into British Gardens and
Plantations, or which have been originated in them; together with
additional Information respecting Plants (whether old or new) already
in Cultivation: the whole intended to serve as a perpetual Supplement
to the ‘* Encyclopedia of Plants,” the ‘“* Hortus Britannicus,”’ the

Led

Flowering Seedling Cacti quickly. gon

oe Hortus Lignosus,” and the “ Arboretum et Fruticetum Britan-
nicum.”

Edwards’s Botanical Register ; in monthly numbers, new series, each
containing six plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by
Dr. Lindley, Professor of Botany in the University College,
London.

Melastomacee.

MARCE‘T/4 Dec. Marcetia. (In honour of Dz. Marcet, who has written on vegetable poisons.)
decussata Grah. _cross-leaved w[_j pr. £2. so Pk _ Brazil 1840. C co Bot. 223,
Synonyme : Rhéxia decussata Mart. & Schrank.

A pretty little shrub, with pink flowers, a native of Brazil, raised in Mr.
Cunningham’s nursery, Comely Bank, near Edinburgh. “It has been kept in
the stove ; but one plant, placed in the greenhouse, stood there in October
without injury.” (Botanist, June.)

Acanthacee.
3659. STROBILA’NTHES.

scabra Lind?. rough % CO or 4 m Y India _ 1840. C pl Bot. reg. 1841, 32.

A very handsome stove shrub, with bright yellow flowers, which flowered
lately at Syon. “ It requires to be managed in much the same manner as an
Eranthemum or a Justicia. It strikes readily from cuttings, and grows luxu-
riantly in any free soil.” (Bot. Reg., June.)

Th ymelee.

87. PIMELE‘A (1841, 33.
spectabilis Lind/. showy %\_]| or 3 ap.my W.Pk Swan River 1840. C l.p.s_ Bot. reg.

A showy species, with very large heads of flowers, and “smooth, rather
glaucous leaves, so arranged as to form four rows along the stem.” It is
easily cultivated if grown in “a mixture of loam, peat, leaf-mould, and sand ;”
and, though it is usually kept in a pot, “it is most beautiful when planta in
the border of the conservatory.” (Bot. Reg., June.)

Orchidacee.

2530. CATASE‘TUM 34.
trilla Lind. trowel-shaped & TX) cu 1s G.Br S. Amer. 1840. D p.r.w_ Bot. reg. i84]

A curious species of Catasétum, which flowered in the Stanhope Nursery
in September, 1840. The flowers are of a dingy green and brown; and “ the
lip has much the form of a trowel,” (Bot. Reg., June.)

Palme.

2682. ARE*CA 23570 montana.
Synonyme : Eutérpe montana Grah. Bot. Mag. 3874.

Art. X. On bringing the Cacti raised from Seed quicker into Flower.
By M. von Warszew!Tz, Gardener in Insterburg.

(From the Transactions of the Prussian Horticultural Society.)

In 1835, about the middle of May, I had two kinds of Cacti in
flower, viz. Cactus speciosa and Cactus alata. C. alata had
AA 4

358 Flowering Seedling Cacti quickly.

several flowers, some of which had already begun to fade;
C. speciosa had only one flower. In order to produce fructi-
fication, I took the pollen from C. speciosa, with which I im-
pregnated the flower of C. alata, and from C. alata I conveyed
the pollen to C. speciosa.

I observed on the 6th day that both impregnations had pro-
duced good fruit blossoms, from which I finally obtained ripe
seeds. In the middle of February, 1836, the fruit began to
ripen, and by the middle May it was completely ripe. On the
20th of May I took the fruit, and separated the seed from the
pulp. I then filled two small pots, 3 in. broad and 3 in. deep,
with pure maiden earth, to which I added one part of sand,
having previously put in potsherds to the depth of 1 in., so
as to obtain an exit for superfluous water. I then filled the
pot full of mould, pressed it down pretty firm, and then strewed
the seeds, after which I covered them with a thin layer of soil.
The pots were now placed in a hotbed, but in a moderate tem-
perature; and they were always covered with a glass, in order that
they might not dry up too suddenly, or be injured by the mois-
ture dropping from the sashes of the roof, which is extremely
injurious to young succulent plants. It must be particularly
observed, that the pots are not allowed to get dry when germi-
nation takes piace; and, in order to prevent this, I covered them
every evening with wet moss, which I took off again in the
morning, by which means not only a moderate degree of tem-
perature and moisture was maintained, but the seed remained
uninjured. With this treatment all the seed, even to a single
grain, germinated in eight days. I kept the plants in the pots
till they were a quarter of an inch high, and therefore fit to be
transplanted, for which purpose I prepared the following mix-
ture of soils: two parts of leaf-mould, one part of loam, one
part of grafting clay, and one part of earthy mortar that had
fallen from old walls. After these are properly mixed and put
through a sieve to bring them to a proper fineness, they are put
into pots 4 in. wide, and filled about 43 in. high, previously pro-
vided with one underlayer of small potsherds. From four to six
plants are then put in, and placed in a hotbed to obtain a higher
degree of temperature. When the plants begin to grow, they
must be kept uniformly moist. I kept mine so much so that the
mould became covered with green moss. The plants continued
healthy and beautiful, and from July to October they attained
from 6 to 8 inches in height, and 1 in. in circumference. I put
some other transplanted plants in a hotbed, and kept them
drier. When these had remained the same length of time in
the hotbed as the other plants, they were found to be very small,
scarcely 2 in. high, and +in. in circumference; which fully con-
vinced me that young plants of. the Cacti raised from seed re-

Manufacture of Rose-Water and Attar of Roses. 59)

quire a great degree of moisture, and that their growth is much
accelerated by it. I observed that the young hybrid plants
of C. alata, impregnated with C. speciosa, were 5- or 6-sided ;
and that those of C. speciosa, impregnated with C. alata, were
from 3- to 4-sided.

In 1838, at the end of May, I grafted three small twigs of
C. alata with a hybrid of C. speciosa, 1 in. long, and + in.
in circumference, on Opuntia vulgaris. At first I placed the pot
in the shade, and then in the course of eight days at a light
window, exposed to the sun all day long. In fourteen days the
twigs began to grow, and so luxuriantly, that in nine months the
three grafts had formed a complete head. ‘Thirteen of the upper
shoots were from 10 in. to 14 in. long, and 23 in. broad. Nine
shoots, from 2 in. to 4 in. long, had appeared below, and were dif-
ferent from the parent stem; yet it must be observed that the
erafted twigs did not retain their young appearance, because all
the shoots were three-cornered below, and winged above; the
twigs were thickly beset with small elevations, like C. speciosa,
and furnished with from 14 to 19 prickles. ‘The twigs are of a
brownish red, particularly at the extremities, and the elevations
from which the flowers proceed are of a dark red colour, as
in C.alata, and from 6 to 10 flower-buds are seen on one twig.
The flowers are from 3 in. to 5 in. in diameter, and resemble
those of C. alata, but the colour is more of a clear orange red.

The hybrid C. alata with C. speciosa is now in full flower,
and is very splendid, particularly when several flowers are open.
I know not what kind of a flower the other hybrid will produce,
but I hope soon to see, as I intend to graft it this year, so as
to bring it quickly into flower.

I have ascertained that Opuntia vulgaris is the best stock for
grafting on. I formerly grafted many kinds of the Cacti on
Opuntia, such as C. specidsa, C. alata, C. grandiflora, C. flagel-
liformis, and C. truncata, on which all the grafts became healthy
and strong, and were covered with flowers every year.

Arr. XI. On the Manufacture of Rose-Water and Attar, or Otto, of
Roses, at Ghazeepore. Abridged from the ‘ Journal of the Royal
Asiatic Society of Bengal,” for May, 1839.

THE rose trees come into flower at the beginning of March, and
continue. so through April. In the morning early, the flowers
are plucked by numbers of men, women, and children, and are
conveyed in large bags to the several contracting parties for
distillation. The cultivators themselves very rarely manufac-
ture. ‘ :

The native apparatus for distilling the rose-water is of the
simplest description, and »eed not be described. The best rose-

360 Use of inclined Walls

water bears the proportion of 1000 roses to a seer and a half
(about a pint and a half) of rose-water. ‘The roses are put into the
water without removing the calices, and just as they come from
the gardens; but an acid smell is occasionally met with in the
native rose-water, which would not be the case if the petals only
were used.

The attar is always made at the beginning of the season,
when the nights are cool. In the morning early, the little film
of attar, which is formed upon the surface of the rose-water
during the night, is removed by means of a feather, and it is
then carefully placed in a small phial; and, day after day, as the
collection is made, it is placed for a short period in the sun;
and after a sufficient quantity has been procured, it is poured off
clear, and of the colour of amber, into small phials. Pure
attar, when it has been removed only three or four days, has a
pale greenish hue; by keeping it loses this, and in a few weeks’
time it becomes of a pale yellow. The first few days’ distilla-
tion does not produce such fine attar as comes off afterwards, in
consequence of the dust or little particles of dirt in the still and
the tube being mixed with it. ‘This is readily separated, from
its sinking to the bottom of the attar, which melts at a tempera-
ture of 84°. From one lac of roses, it is generally calculated
that 180 grains, or one tolah, of attar can be procured: more
than this can be obtained if the roses are full-sized, and the
nights cold, to allow of the congelation. The attar purchased
in the bazaar is generally adulterated, mixed with sandal oil or
sweet oil. Not even the richest native will give the price at
which alone the purest attar can be obtained, and the purest
attar that is made is sold only to Europeans.

The natives are very fond of using the rose-water as medi-
cine, or as a vehicle for other Taras and they consume a
good deal of the petals for the conserve of roses, or goolcund,
as they call it.

The same writer mentions that there are several kinds of
essential oils produced in Ghazeepore from the strong-scented
flowers of the district.

Art. XII. On the Use of inclined Walls for growing the finer Sorts
of Fruits. By N. M. T.

Many objections have theoretically been urged against the use
of inclined walls for growing the finer sorts of fruit. As most
interested in the subject are aware of the nature of these objec-
tions, I will not stop to repeat them: let it suffice to say that I
consider them utterly groundless, when the walls are, in other
respects, well situated; and I beg to state a few facts that led
me to form such a conclusion. In 1834, I undertook the

or crowing the finer Fruits. 561
fo) oS

management of some peach and nectarine trees trained upon
an inclined wall, or, more properly, paved bank, that forms part
of the beautiful grounds of Henry Dawkins, Esq., of Encombe,
Kent; and I confess that I entered upon the task brimful of all
the prejudices that had been advanced upon the subject. The
wall for the trees in question was formed by paving the lower
part of a high steep bank, forming a natural crescent-like con-
cavity, the middle of which faces due south; the ends, conse-
quently, giving a somewhat east and west aspect. The whole
was perfectly sheltered by the precipitous bank, densely covered
with pinasters above, and equally so by shrubs of lower growth
in front; so that a more favoured spot could not possibly be
selected for the growth of plants requiring intense heat to perfect
their fruits; so favourable, indeed, that I should have supposed
trees so situated, planted upon common or perpendicular walls,
would have equally succeeded, had I not been shown the con-
trary, by a wall, in every respect the counterpart of the sloping
one (the slope excepted), invariably ripening the fruit upon it
from a month to nearly six weeks later. The fruit upon the
perpendicular wall, from its truly favoured locality, is excellent
and early, but still, in every respect, inferior to that benefited by
an inclined surface; a fact more apparent in seasons deficient in
summer heat, when the fruit upon the common wall has, in
some cases, ripened partially; but in no instance, during the
seven years that it has been under my observation, has there
ever been a failure upon the sloping one.

Thus the so much talked of moisture, the baneful effect of
hoarfrost and dew, upon the upturned blossoms, are only so
many bugbears conjured up to deter from making such erec-
tions. (Why?) ‘The supposition that they are damp, or inju-
riously moist, is a positive mistake. The fact is, the heat caused
by the action of perpendicular solar rays upon them is often
such, that ample supplies of water are indispensable to keep the
foliage from being scorched up; nor does this wall, although
now of considerable age, exhibit a single speck of fungus of any
sort, or any of the invariable concomitants of damp. Should
the position of the blossoms in such cases be more than a fancied
evil, it is evidently more than counterbalanced by some positive
good.

Amongst the advantages plants derive from their position on
inclined surfaces, light must hold a prominent place; its influ-
ence extends to every vegetable production, and is even bene-
ficial to the soil in which they grow. ‘Trees naturally grow
with greatest vigour at their extremities; placed upright, the
evil is ageravated, and the ill-placed luxuriance goes far to
deprive the lower parts of the plant of all perpendicular light ;
an evil that cannot affect them in an inclined position, where the

362 Britton’s Illustrations of Toddington.

amount of light they receive is more direct, and much greater.
I do not contend that such walls, erected in less favoured spots,
or destitute of the accompanying shelter, would produce the same
happy results; but there are many places affording such advan-
tages, where the trial may, without fear of disappointment, be
made To be able to do so must, however, depend upon cir-
cumstances ; as it is evident that the first part of the process
must be finding an available bank. To raise such artificially
would be attended with great expense, and, in all probability,
would not answer the purpose when raised, as such bank would
maintain a more variable, and, in most cases, a lower tempera-
ture, than such as are supported by so stable a body as the firm

earth. It might be supposed that such banks would be well
adapted for growing grapes; but, from the pendulous nature of
the bunches, this is not the case. The paving of such banks is
a very simple process, it being only necessary to cut the bank
into the required form as smoothly as may be; then to pave it
with bricks, laid flat, in good mortar: when completed, the
whole to be washed over with coal tar, and the operation is
finished.

Thus may be raised, at a very trifling cost (compared with
what would be requisite to raise a common wall of the same
extent), a surface capable of procuring to its possessor many
enjoyments. ‘The angle at which these inclinations ought to be
constructed may possibly be of much importance. I have seen
them, however, vary considerably in this respect, and do appa-
rently equally well. Raised so as to meet the sun’s rays per-
pendicularly, at a time the fruit may be expected to ripen, may
possibly prove a tolerably correct guide.

Folkstone, June 4. 1841.

REVIEWS.

Art. I. Graphic Illustrations, with Historical and Descriptive Ac-
counts, fo Toddington, Gloucestershire, the Seat of Lord Sudeley.
By John Britton, F.S.A., Honorary Member of the Royal Institute
of British Architects, and of several other English and Foreign
Societies; Author of “ The Cathedral and Architectural Antiqui-
ties,’ &c. 4to, pp. 46, 29 plates and 3 woodcuts. London,
1841.

Tue purpose of this volume, Mr. Britton informs us in the dedication, address-
ing himself to Lord Sudeley, is, “to illustrate and describe a mansion which
has been designed by yourself, and superintended in its whole progress of ex-
ecution under your direct and special cognizance. I know not of any parallel
instance where a house of equal extent, diversity of parts, richness of decora-
tion, and harmony of arrangement, has been the work of an amateur architect.

Earl De Grey, I am aware, Tha raised a splendid seat at Wrest, in which His
Lordship has manifested an extent of architectural knowledge, and a degree of

Britton’s Illustrations of Toddington. 363

taste, surpassing the acquirements of many professional men. Each of these
houses may be truly said to reflect honour on its architect, as well as on the
character of the English nobleman. It is gratifying to witness the aristocracy
of our country thus laudably applying their wealth and time to encourage the
artist and artizan, and to employ the labourer. If the professional architects
be alarmed at the apprehension of losing a certain ‘commission,’ and the
reputation which such noblemen might confer by their patronage, they may
console themselves with the conviction that there will not be many instances
of successful amateurship in their exalted profession ; for the science of ar-
chitecture requires too much mental labour to be successfully practised by
many persons of fortune. Diligence, learning, taste, and experience, must co-
operate to produce those first-rate buildings which shall deserve the praise of
the discriminating critic.” (p. iv-)

After a variety of remarks on connoiseurship and criticism, Mr. Britton
announces his intention of giving a “full and impartial review of the archi-
tectural character of the new house at Toddington. Unlike the doating parent,
who can perceive nothing but good in a favourite child, I know that Your
Lordship can duly and justly appreciate both the merits and the defects of
your own architectural progeny ; and that you would much rather hear the
language of honest discriminating censure, if merited, than that of praise, if
fulsomely or indiscreetly pronounced.” (p. vi.)

A long and very interesting preface takes a review of the literature of
architecture, more especially during the present century, from which we make
the following quotation.

“ Few things are more calculated to improve or form the popular taste
than published essays in works like the ‘ Quarterly Review;’ in pamphlets,
such as that by the late Thomas Hope, Esq., on Wyatt’s absurd designs for
Downing College; in another by George Vivian, Esq., on ‘the Prospects of
Art in the future Parliament House.’ These comments and criticisms are of
infinite service, as calculated to inform the ignorant, reprove the arrogant,
induce inquiry, point out the errors of professional men and flippant amateurs,
and confirm and give a permanent stamp to the productions of genius and
ability. The honesty of purpose and principle, the unflinching boldness and
sound criticisms, of the latter pamphlet, are truly honourable to the English
country gentleman. Such persons should write often; they should not hoard
up their mental wealth, but disperse it freely and frequently. Of three royal
architectural gewgaws, the Queen’s Lodge at Windsor, the Cottage in the
forest, and Kew Palace, Mr. Vivian says ‘they were equally notorious for
flimsy construction and costliness. These expensive follies have disappeared,
and although at the loss of hundreds of thousands (for the palace at Kew
alone cost half a million), it is fortunate for the credit of the country that
they are no longer in existence. Yet these abominable productions were from
the leading men of the day.

“ France has preceded and surpassed England in many novelties; at the
present time it has set us an example which our ambition, or our shame, will _
at no distant time induce us to imitate. The Monarch has commanded the
Minister of the Interior to appoint an ‘ Historical Committee on the Arts
and Monuments ;’ ene object of which is to obtain good accounts, with
drawings, of all the public edifices of the country; and appropriate funds are
granted to preserve or renovate the best of them. This is true patriotism,
worthy an enlightened country, on which it reflects honour; whilst it gives a
tacit but severe reproach to other nations whose ancient and interesting
buildings are wantonly destroyed, or heedlessly neglected. Some years back
I urged this subject on the attention of our own ministry; but the labours
and conflicts of party engrossed too much of their time and thoughts to allow
even the best-disposed amongst them to attend to such matters, or even to
others, which to the enlightened Englishman seem to be essential to the na-
tional welfare and national honour.”

Chapter 1. is an essay on the application of ancient monastic architecture

364 Britton’s Illustrations of Toddington.

to the modern English mansion and villa, which is pregnant with judicious
criticism and remarks, and cannot fail to prove instructive to every gardener
who isat all ambitious of deriving intellectual enjoyment from objects with
which he is continually surrounded. We make no apology, therefore, to the
reader for the length of our quotations, and we trust that our esteemed friend
the author will be gratified by knowing that his sentiments on domestic ar-
chitecture and landscape-gardening, by being published in this Magazine, will
be perused and studied by a class of readers who are not likely to have access
to his elegant, and unavoidably expensive work ; while, at the same time these
quotations will prove that “ 'Toddington” is a book as useful as it is elegant.
We could wish, indeed, that it could be perused, and the plates examined, by
every country gentleman intending either to plant or to build.

“ The exterior of a building, like the title of a book, should not only be in-
telligible but expressive and apposite. It should as much indicate the true
object and destination of the former, as the words of a titlepage should give a
plain intimation of the contents of the latter. A painter would be reprehen-
sible in employing dark colours and grave characters in the representation of
a cheerful or a humorous subject; and an author would be equally injudicious
in writing a quaint or ludicrous titlepage to a pathetic tale, or to a philo-
sophical treatise. So, also, the principal front of an edifice should hold out
some indication, some visible mark, of its purpose and application.

“ Every person, whether learned or illiterate, who looks upon the walls of
Newgate or the west front of Salisbury Cathedral, will readily understand the
real purpose of either building. No one would be so absurd as to call the
latter a prison, or the former a church. The interiors of both these edifices
are still,more palpably appropriate in their respective manifestations; for the
architects knew their duty, and, influenced by sound sense and good taste,
designed every part of their respective buildings with rationality and con-
sistency.

“The exterior of the Mansion of Toddington plainly indicates its purport :
it carries ‘ outward and visible signs’ of its inward appliances. It cannot be
mistaken for a church or a prison, for a manufactory or for a farm-house. The
windows, doors, chimney-shafts, and other accompaniments, intelligibly and
plainly show that it is the habitation of a person of rank and wealth. It is
evidently the home of the lord of the domain in which it is placed; and by its
magnitude and ornamental details it demonstrates, at once, the station of its
occupant and the taste of its architect. In the instance before us, these are
united in the same person; for the present noble owner of Toddington has
not only furnished the means for erecting, but likewise the designs for con-
structing and finishing, the edifice.

«When the Gothic style first appeared in modern houses, novelty easily
gave a charm to many miserable conceits, which, now that the real merits of
the style are better understood, can only be looked upon with contempt.
Such failures ought not to pass unregarded by the architect who aspires ta a
lasting name ; they are so many beacons to warn him to steer off from false
taste. Most of these failures have been incurred by attempting too much.
The strength and grandeur of a feudal castle, or the milder solemnity of an
ancient abbey, can very rarely be imitated; and it is quite absurd and ri-
diculous to pretend to such effects in a house of moderate size. True prin-
ciples of taste have been sadly overlooked in many imitations of such buildings ;
showy compositions have been made up of parts indiscriminately copied fr om

castles and churches, reduced to petty dimensions, stripped of their proper
details, and the naked outline feebly executed in wood or plaster” (Willson—
Pugin’s Specimens, il. Xviii.)

““¢ The excessive refinement of modern habits occasions much difficulty in
domestic architecture. So much must be reserved for fitting up of a house to
satisfy fashionable ideas of comfort and convenience, tliat~little more can be
-allowed for the fabric than naked walls and roof.’ (ibid., il, Xxil.)

“ Of modern imitations of Gothic, we may advert to a few examples; from

Britton’s Illustrations of Toddington. 365

which it will appear that the artists, amateurs, and gentlemen of our own time
have studied the subject more carefully and critically, and have, consequently,
better understood both the letter and spirit of this class of architecture than
any of their predecessors since the breaking up of the monastic institutions of
the country. This improvement in professional education may be ascribed to
the prevalence and popularity of public criticism and discussion on works of
art; to the number and beauty of the publications which have appeared since
the commencement of the present century on the architectural and cathedral
antiquities of our country; and to the demand for new churches, and other
buildings, which have been required, in this style, within the same period. It
would extend this Essay to an unreasonable length were I to enumerate and
remark on a moiety of these ; but it will be useful to mention and comment
on some of the houses which may be considered to have contributed, in no
small degree, to set the fashion, and to induce the proprietors of country
estates to employ a species of architecture which is so eminently suited to
harmonise with and adorn the park and landscape scenery of England.

“Mr. Willson, than whom I cannot refer to better authority on these sub-
jects, says—‘ By a judicious attention to appropriate models, a modern re-
sidence, of whatever size, may be constructed in the Gothic style without
departing from sound principles of taste. Some modification of ancient
precedents must be allowed, for an absolute fidelity will frequently prove
incompatible with convenience ; but as few deviations as possible should be
gone into ; and, above all, nothing should be attempted which is inconsistent
with the character and situation of the place, or which cannot be executed on
a proper scale of dimensions.’ (Ibid., xix.)

“«The difficulties attending a successful imitation of the Gothic style ap-
pear to have been much less regarded than they deserve : it is asserted, with
confidence, that more attention must be paid to such difficulties, both by
architects and their patrons, than has generally been done, before any thing
truly excellent and worthy to be associated with ancient examples can be
produced.’ (Pugin’s Specimens, ii. xxii.)

“ Not only England, but Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, contain many and
varied examples of modern Gothic mansions, villas, and even town-houses ;
some of which are at once creditable to their respective architects and owners,
and ornamental to their peculiar localities. There are others, however—and
the class is numerous—which are devoid of all congruity and beauty of style,
and may be pronounced more petty and pretty, than skilful in design or good
in detail. The architects, or rather the builders of them—true descendants
of the Batty Langley school—have vainly fancied that windows with pointed
arches, embattled parapets, octagonal buttresses, crowned with embrasured
turrets, pinnacles, or things which they call pinnacles, constitute a Gothic
building ; and these frequently contained a motley mixture of castellated and
monastic forms and parts. Such was the absurd and tasteless palace at Kew,
built from the designs of James Wyatt, as well as Belvoir Castle, and others of
his early works. Mr. Wilkins, Senior, in Donnington Park, Leicestershire ;
Mr. Holland and Mr. Carter at Oatlands ; Mr. Nash at Childwall Hall, Lan-
cashire; Sir John Soane in the Houses of Parliament, at Westminster ; and
General Durant in Tong Castle, Shropshire ; have left in those works evi-
dences of bad taste and ignorance of the architecture which they burlesqued.
Many other architects of recent times have the credit, or rather discredit, of
designing and directing buildings which have scarcely one feature of the true
monastic style.

“ Ashridge, the seat of the late Earl of Bridgewater, at whose expense it
was built between 1808 and 1820, is among the first, if not the most mag-
nificent, of modern English mansions. The greater part of it was designed
and erected by the late James Wyatt, after whose death, in 1813, the late Sir
Jeffry Wyatville was employed to alter and finish the whole. His additions
and improvements were many and important; and as he had studied the
subject well, and was influenced by zeal, industry, and knowledge, it is rea-

3 66 Brition’s Illustrations of Toddington.

sonably inferred that some of the best features of the building are to be
ascribed to him. Its vast range of buildings extends nearly 1000 feet in the
north front, including the mansion, orangery, and numerous offices. The
depth, or width, at the chapel, is 200 feet; but in other parts about 150 feet.
The principal apartments, on the ground floor, are large and lofty, and com-
prise an exterior porch; an entrance hall, 40 by 24, and 52 feet im height ; a
grand staircase, 33 by 38, and 84 feet high; a hbrary, 51 by 26 feet ; a drawing
and a dining-room, each 50 by 30 feet ; an ante-room, between these, 30 by 21
feet ; a conservatory, 108 by 20, at the ends, and 30 feet in the centre; and a
chapel, with an ante-chapel, 76 by 20 feet. These communicate with several
other subordinate rooms, also with the domestic offices, and surround several
open courts. The exterior displays windows of varied forms and sizes, an
embattled parapet, buttresses, and pinnacles, towers, and a spire to the chapel ;
whilst the interior is elaborately adorned with paneling, fan and other tracery
in the ceilings, galleries, and corridors, niches with statues, painted glass m
the windows, and paintings of a high class by English artists. It is built
mostly of the beautiful Tottenhoe stone, with Portland stone dressings. —The
furniture and fittings are designed to correspond with the building; and the
whole, with its extensive and diversified park and venerable woods, forms a
seat of real splendour and grandeur.

“ Eaton Hall, Cheshire, the gorgeous seat of the Marquess of Westminster,
is a large, elaborate, and costly modern Gothic mansion: it was commenced
in 1803 and finished in 1825. Its architect was William Porden, Esq.; who
being provided with ample funds by the wealthy proprietor, and bemg am-
bitious to surpass in richness of detail the famed works of his contemporary
and rival, Mr. Wyatt, adopted the florid ecclesiastical style and ornaments of
the fourteenth century, when ambitious prelates, abbots, and monarchs, erected
some of those elegant churches, towers, &c., which still remain to ornament
and enrich the country. Not duly considering the unfitness of this elaborate
and highly wrought architecture to the wear and tear, and every-day occu-
pancy, of a dwelling-house, the architect has produced, both externally and
internally, more the appearance of a church or chapel, than of a house for the
abode of a family with numerous servants. It is overcharged with ornament ;
it appears too light, thin, and fragile. This is more palpable in the window-
frames than in other parts. Messrs. Buckler, father and son, the skilful
artists, have published an interesting volume illustrative of this mansion, with
ground plan, and views of its exterior and interior, with a concise descriptive
account.

“ The late John Nash, Esq. designed and erected several houses in Wales,
Shropshire, Herefordshire, and other parts of England, in what he calied the
Gothic style; but it is to be regretted that there is very little to praise, or
even approve, in any of those works. In altering Corsham House, Wiltshire,
he expended a large sum of money, and made great changes to a fine old
mansion. In this, however, he not only showed a lamentable want of taste,
but an equal lack of good sense and discretion. In the forms, character, and
adaptation of the whole design, there was not the least attempt to assimilate
them to the south front, which was a fine old elevation, and which was and is
preserved in its pristine simplicity and harmony of character. I am aware that
the late Mr. Repton claimed this design as having been made by his son, Mr.
John Adey Repton, who was at the time engaged in Mr. Nash’s office.

© Downton Castle, Herefordshire, built by the learned R. Payne Knight, Esq.,
author of the interesting work on ‘ The Principles of Taste,’ is certainly not
calculated to reflect much credit either on his own taste in architecture, or
sound judgment in such subjects. Large, round, and octagonal towers, with
thin and poor machicolated and embattled parapets, are the only features of
the castle ; but these seem rather to belong to the scenes of a theatre than to
a baronial fortress. Its sash windows are still further out of character. About
the time this castle was building, or soon afterwards, R. P. Knight, Uvedale
Price, and Humphrey Repton, Esqrs., were warmly contesting, in different

Britton’s Illustrations of Toddington. 367

publications, the principles, or characteristics, of ‘the picturesque, as mani-
fested in country seats and their accompanying scenery. Whilst the two
amateur critics contended for the rugged, broken, irregular, and even ragged
and ruinous, as essential constituents of that quality, and also recommended
their adoption around, and in unity with a house; the professor, Mr. Repton,
advocated smoothness, neatness, and symmetry, in the grounds, plantations,
and buildings adjacent to the country mansion. Mr. Knight exhibited a
practical illustration of his own theory in the grounds of Downton, and at-
tempted it in his Castle, which appears to have been built under his own
directions. The park and pleasure-grounds at Fozrley, Mr. Price’s seat, were
also wild, romantic, and ‘picturesque ;’ but the house was a plain old brick
building. In the year 1798 I visited both these houses, and spent a most de-
lightful day with the accomplished owner of the former. The Rev. Wm.
Gilpin had lately published some popular works on ‘ Picturesque Beauty, and
Walpole, George and William Mason, Whately, Morris, Marshall, and other
authors, had also produced their respective essays on the same subject.

“ Sir Robert Smirke has made several practical designs in imitation of the

monastic or castellated architecture of the middle ages ; but it is generally
admitted that he has not been successful in imparting the true architectural
character of either the castle or the monastery to any of his works, His two
most eminent buildings are Lowther Castle, Westmoreland, begun in 1808, and
Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire. These certainly have circular, square, and
octagonal towers, with embattled parapets, and machicolated members, with
loopholes, or oilets, whilst square-headed and pointed-arched windows, with
foliated pinnacles, and other details, rather belong to the church than to the
castle, and do not combine well in the mansion. Both these edifices are
~commanding, imposing, and picturesque in their effect on the eye and imagi-
nation ; but they fail to satisfy the searching and discriminating architectural
critic. In Lowther Castle, as at Eaton Hall, is an open porch for carriages.
It leads to a spacious hall, 60 by 30 feet, beyond which is a grand staircase,
60 feet square, by 90 feet in height. A suite of large apartments branch off
from two sides of the hall and staircase. The north front of the building is
420 feet in extent, and the south front is 280 feet.

“ Mr. P. F. Robinson, author of the ‘ Modern Vitruvius Britannicus,’ and
of other literary embellished works, made considerable alterations to an old
house, near Swansea, in South Wales, for J. H. Vivian, Esq. M.P. Plans,
views, and an account of his house, were published in ‘ Domestic Architecture
in the Tudor Style,’ 4to. 1837.

“ Penrhyn Castle, the seat of G. H. D. Pennant, Esq., in North Wales, is a
large modern mansion, recently raised from the designs of Thomas Hopper,
Esq., who has given to the exterior of this vast mass of building much of the
true castellated character. In the largeness and solidity of forms, in the
boldness of the towers, in the machicolated and embattled parapets, and in the
general style and expression of the whole edifice, the architect has displayed
considerable skill and professional knowledge. The ancient castle can never,
however, be adapted to the demands of modern domestic comfort without
great alterations, and departure from the original character of the edifice ;
nor can a new edifice be erected strictly in that style, to suit the habits of
the present age of refinement and luxury. Sir Jeffry Wyatville, in making his
vast alterations and decided improvements to :

“ Windsor Castle, found that the windows, door-ways, staircases, and
apartments, of that palatial fortress were wholly unfitted for a royal residence,
and therefore he remodelled and made new designs for the whole. In this
extremely difficult and arduous task he manifested much knowledge, and at
the same time considerable taste. Had he been unfettered, it 1s believed that he
would have been even more successful ; but when we compare what he has done
with the flimsy and puerile works which he found there, of the reigns of
Charles and George III., and even with the designs of his rivals, we shall find
that much, very much, credit is due to him. Had all his plans for the im-

1841.— VII. 3d Ser. BB

368 _ Britton’s Illustrations of Toddington.

provements of this royal palace been carried into effect, Windsor Castle would
be as much superior to what it is at present as it is now compared to its state
in the days of George the Third. If the sums that were recklessly and taste-
lessly expended on the Pavilion at Brighton, the new palace at Kew, and that
architectural bauble called ‘the Cottage,’ in Windsor Forest, had been judi-
ciously applied to the improvements of the castle now referred to, it might have
been rendered all that the good sense and good taste of Englishmen could
have desired. Though much has been effected, there are many things still
left undone ; and although the modern architectural details are far removed
from the true castellated character, it must be admitted that the whole
building is more appropriate, and better adapted to the domestic accommo-
dation of a court, than could have been obtained from any ancient castle or
modern imitation.

« Alton Towers, Staffordshire, the mansion of the Earl of Shrewsbury,
demands notice as the most remarkable seat in Great Britain, for the singu-
larity of its scenery, and the varied incongruous buildings which are applied
to the mansion, to stables, towers, a bridge, &c. As demonstrative of the
eccentricity of the late nobleman, who directed most of the works, we find a
Gothic bridge without any water beneath, lakes on eminences, towers in the
vales, a lofty Gothic tower or temple, masses of rock raised on end and
sustaining other blocks, said to imitate Stonehenge, and stables in the form
of a castle. These works were commenced in 1814 by the then proprietor,
who consulted many architects and also other artists, but does not appear to
have followed the advice, or carried out the designs, of any one of them.
The present nobleman has consequently had much to do and undo, in order
to remove and remedy glaring defects, and to improve a place where nature
presented many capabilities, which good taste might have rendered full of
picturesque beauties and architectural grandeur. Aided by the skilful advice
of Mr. A. W. Pugin, the noble owner of Alton Towers is making many and
great improvements to the buildings of his seat; and we may confidently
expect these will be in conformity to the principles of ancient monastic ar-
chitecture.

“ Ravensworth Castle, Durham, the seat of Lord Ravensworth, ranks
amongst the most distinguished of modern Gothic mansions, and therefore
challenges particular notice and comment in this place, from being chiefly
executed under the directions of an amateur architect. The Honourable
Thomas Liddell, son of the noble owner, has devoted some years to the
pleasing and arduous task of superintending these works, and, I am well in-
formed, has manifested both architectural skill and taste in the different parts
of the mansion, which have been raised from his designs. The building was
commenced in 1808, from drawings made by the late John Nash, who, ac-
cording to the language of the learned historian of Durham (Mr. Surtees),
adopted a ‘selection from the castle architecture of various periods, not,
however, too remote to be brought into contact ; the various towers and
fagades produce pleasing combinations in every point of view.’ Not having
seen the building, and having vainly sought to obtain an inspection of the
plans and drawings, I am unable to furnish a fuller account.

* At Margam, in South Wales, Mr. Hopper has built a house for C. R.
Mansell Talbot, Esq., in the decorated Tudor style; and, judging from the
ground plan and drawings, I am inclined to think he has been eminently suc-
cessful in adapting the old forms and character of collegiate architecture to a
modern mansion. The same architect has designed and erected another
handsome mansion for Sir Benjamin Hall, Bart., M.P., at Llanover-Court,
Monmouthshire, in imitation of the houses of James the First’s time.

“ At Cossey, in Norfolk, Mr. J. C. Buckler has built a large seat, with a
highly decorated chapel, for Sir George Jerningham, Bart. The latter is ex-
pressly adapted for the rites and ceremonies of the Roman Catholic religion,
and the whole mass of buildings, in the old English domestic character, is at
once creditable to the professional talents of the architect and to the good
taste and liberality of his patron.

Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 369

“Mr. J. A. Repton and Mr. Blore have both been well initiated in the
general principles, as well as the details, of the ancient church architecture of
England. From boyhood upwards they studied and made numerous drawings
of the cathedrals of Norwich, Peterborough, Winchester, York, &c., and
thereby acquired a familiar knowledge of the forms, proportions, construction,
and manifold details of those magnificent and interesting national edifices.
Mr. Eginton, of Worcester, having studied in the same valuable school, has
applied his knowledge in designing and building some good Gothic houses in
the neighbourhood of Bristol. He has also shown much skill in designing a
new roof to the chancel of Stratford Church, and in rebuilding parts of a
church at Evesham. Mr. Augustus W. Pugin was fundamentally instructed
in all the elements and principles of Gothic architecture in the office of his
father, who brought up a class of pupils in that branch of art. Adopting the
Roman Catholic creed, and advocating all its dogmas, as well as canons, he
has been caressed and patronised by the gentry and clergy of that religion, and
thence employed to build and adorn several distinguished edifices. Many
other young architects of the present age have studied this class of buildings
so carefully and fully as to be well qualified to design and execute new works
in a good style.

“In Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, many new mansions have been built
during the course of the present century, either in the castellated or monastic
style of architecture. Those of Scotland are mostly of the first kind, with
certain national or local peculiarities in angular and other towers, in parapets,
and in the windows. The late Sir Walter Scott expended a large sum of
money in building a new house at Abbotsford, for which he consulted Mr.
Atkinson and Mr. Blore, and applied some of his own designs. It was ul-
timately a compound of the castle, abbey, college, &c., and was certainly
picturesque in its different elevations and in plan.”

( To be continued.)

ArT. II. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, with some Account of
those that are considered the more interesting.

First Additional Suppplement to Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Plants; com-
prising the Specific Character, Description, Culture, History, Application in the
Arts, and every other desirable Particular respecting all the Plants originated
mm Britain, between the first Publication of the Work in 1829, and January,
1840; with a new General Index to the whole Work. “Edited by J. C. Lou-
don, F'.L.S., H.S., &c. Prepared by W. H. Baxter, and revised by George
Don, F.L.S.

Those who possess the original work will be eager to procure this Supple-
ment, which brings it down to the present time, and in which, we trust, they
will not find a generic name omitted, of which there are, or have been, living
plants in the country. There are above a thousand engravings, illustrative of
this Supplement, most beautifully executed, and doing the highest credit to
Mr. Sowerby and to Mr. Branston, as the text does to Mr. George Don and
Mr. W. H. Baxter.

Icones Plantarum Rariorum, §c. By Link, Klotzsch, and Otto. Part II.

The plants figured and described in the present number are : —Scutellaria
spléndens, Labiate, t. 13.; Gonatanthus sarmentdsus, Ardidez, t.14.; Pi-
sonia Olfersidna, Nyctaginez, t. 15., a stove shrub from Brazil ; Odonto-
glossum Ehrenbérgi, Orchidace, t. 16., an epiphyte of humble growth, with
pseudo-bulbs and white flowers spotted with brown, from Brazil ; Tropz‘olum
Moritzianum, Tropedlez, t.17., and Maund’s Botanist, t.221.; Notylia sagit-
tifera, Orchidacez, t. 18., sent from Brazil by M. Edward Otto, and previously
figured in various British works.

BB 2

370 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc.

Specimen Book of Austin and Seeley’s Artificial Stone Manufactory, New Road,
London. 4to, 18 plates. London, 1841.

Every one who has passed along the New Road, near Fitzroy Square, has
seen Mr. Austin’s splendid assemblage of sculptural works in artificial stone ;
and there is scarcely a flower-garden in any part of England which does not
boast of a vase, a fountain, a sun-dial, or a statue, from his manufactory.
The establishment has been greatly enlarged in consequence of the widely
spreading demand, not only for ornaments to gardens and pleasure-grounds,
but for finishings to buildings; such as chimney-pots and shafts, balustrades,
parapets, mullions, architraves, and a variety of similar objects, which it is found
may be cheaper and better executed in artificial stone than moulded on the spot
in Roman cement. Mr. Austin has taken a partner, Mr. Seeley, who is as great
an enthusiast in artificial stone as himself; and from their joint exertions, pa-
tronised, as we trust they will be, by our landed proprietors, architects, and gar-
deners, we anticipate an increased degree of architectural finish and sculptural
ornaments throughout the country. The following quotation from the pre-
fatory matter will give an idea of the nature of Austin’s artificial stone, its
durability, and the various purposes to which it may be applied : —

“‘ Austin’s artificial-stone is of a light tint, requires no painting or colouring,
will not sustain any injury from the severest winter, and, being impervious to
wet, is particularly applicable to all kinds of water-works. Its superiority is
now so thoroughly established, that the most eminent architects and scientific
gentlemen have expressed, in the highest terms, their approbation of its dura-
bility, and close resemblance to the real stone.

“ To prevent the possibility of misconception, A. & S. beg to state that
they do not guarantee any of their vases or tazzas tc hold during hard frost
without injury. The well-known fact of mountain rocks being frequently
burst by the natural expansion of the freezing water, would prove the ab-
surdity of such a pretension. But they boldly assert (after an experience of
many years) that ‘ Austin’s Stone’ is waterproof, and, therefore, well qua-
lified to hold water (not ice) for any length of time ; and further, that neither
heat, nor dry frost, nor snow, nor damp, will produce any sensible effect upon
it. They see not, therefore, why, with the simple precaution of keeping the
pipes dry from November to March Ist, the English should not enjoy what
Mr. Nash, in describing the fountains of Paris, calls ‘the indescribable pleasure
of running water, during eight months of the year. Without this trifling
degree of care the strength of the basin is of little consequence, as it is quite
certain that the service pipe will burst with an inferior degree of cold.

“ This artificial stone is well adapted for the enrichments of buildings, and
more particularly where repetition of ornament is required, as in the Gothic
style; and when Roman cement is used for the plain work of such buildings,
the ornaments (of which a large assortment, in every variety of design, is
always in readiness) can be had of the same material.

“ Fountains, cascades, artificial reservoirs, vases, figures, grottoes, rock-
work, imitative ruins, and the most magnificent designs, can be executed in this
material, of any dimensions ; and it only requires encouragement to make the
gardens and pleasure-grounds of England vie, in this description of deco-
ration, with those splendid, and at present unrivalled, receptacles of art on the
Continent.

““ Vases and other ornaments may be made to represent the antique, as old
stone can be closely imitated ; and where the ornaments of old buildings are
destroyed by age, they can, by this material, be restored.”

On the Theories of the Weather Prophets, and the comparative Success of their
Predictions. By W. H. White, M.B.S., Secretary to the Meteorological
Society, &c, Pamph, 8vo, pp. 16. . London, 1841.

Though this tract is to be considered more as a fragment than as a whole,
yet it contains matter relating to the weather which we think will be highly

Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 371

interesting, if not instructive, to the gardener; and we therefore make some
quotations and abridgments with that view.

‘“ In order to arrive at any comparative estimate of Weather Predictions, it
will be important to notice briefly the principles of the theories adopted by the
most popular theorists of the day. The chief aspirants for predictive fame
are, Murphy, Zadkiel, Simmonite, and Hind, who shall be noticed in due
order; and first, Murphy, whose fame was established upon his successful
prediction in January, 1838, when he predicted that the minimum temperature
of that winter would occur on the 20th of that month, which prediction was
verified to the very hour: but this prediction is not so truly wonderful as it
at first sight appears to us, when we reflect that England’s champion in Me-
teorology, Luke Howard, has clearly demonstrated, from careful observations
through a period of twenty years, that the greatest cold of winter generally
takes places about the time when the sun enters Aquarius, which is on the
20th of January. But the principles upon which Murphy founds his predic-
tions are not scientific, and capable of mathematical demonstration — for he
forms his predictions upon comparison of the seasons of different years — the
seasons of the same year, and their principal phenomena — such as the oppo-
site extremes of winter cold and summer heat, the equinoctial gales, and other
chief periods of storm or rain. Now, if we compare the seasons of different
years, what analogy do we find? Take, for example, the month of March
last year, and the present, and where do we find the least analogy ?— the
one cold and dreary (1840), and the other (1841) brilliant and summer-like.

“Mean temperature of 1840, 39°43 being 2°08 below the average mean.
1841, 46°25 being 4°74 above the average mean.

“ Increase of March 1841, over 6°82
March 1840.

-“ Murphy proceeds to adopt a new theory ; viz. — Assuming the Sun to be
a globe of fire, and assuming also that the Sun is the origin of planetary
and cometary temperature ; he attempts to regulate planetary temperature
throughout the solar system, and to show that such temperature must be the
sustaining principle of life wherever it exists; hence, says he, ‘in the absence
of more direct proof, we are warranted in concluding that the same standard
of temperature exists throughout the whole of the heavenly bodies.’ Murphy
considers that ‘ solar reflection is the first law in physics,’ for, says he, ‘ how-
ever improbable the fact of reflected action may at first appear, it has, as re-
gards the principle of temperature, and the other local phenomena of the sun
and planets, the effect of approximating and wniting the entire superficies of
these bodies, however individually distant from each other, on the same plane
of action. For when it is considered that the effect of reflection is to reverse
the scale of the action it induces on the body acted on, in the direction of the body
reflected, it will follow, that the distance of the reflecting surface on the one
hand, from the body reflected on the other, can induce no difference in the
local effect of such reflected action on the former.’

“ Tf, then, the sun has the power of equalising the temperature throughout
the planetary system, we may rationally enquire, How is it that March, 1841,
has been so much hotter than March, 1840? They are corresponding months,
and both fall at the same season of the year; hence Murphy’s first law of
physics, Reflection, does not hold good for two years together. But in order
to set discrepancies of this kind at rest, Murphy tells us that ‘ magnetism pro-
duces cold, and electricity produces heat ;>—hence we were magnetised in
1840, and electricised in 1841 !

“1 come now to the principles of one of the most beautiful theories ever
held out to the investigation of science — a theory that is capable of mathe-
matical demonstration, —a theory that is built upon no less a basis than that
of the solar system itself — upon the system of planetary cooperation in fact, in
which each planet through solar or lunar agency, acts upon the gaseous sub-

BB 3

an Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &¢.

stances in the atmospheres of the others, by their angular positions. This
theory has taken the name of Astral Theory, and is ably advocated by Zadkiel
and Simmonite, the two Astral champions of the present day.

The Astral Theory, or Astro-meteorology, is founded upon certain influences,
which celestial bodies are found by observation to have upon terrestrial matter,
or rather upon the gaseous substances contained in the earth’s atmosphere.
Now, it would seem impossible for bodies, placed at such immense distances
from the earth as the planetary bodies are, to have any influence at all upon
the gases of the atmosphere, if space were a complete vacuum ; but modern
philosophy teaches us that space is filled with a rare and imperceptible fluid,
which extends itself over all nature; pervades all space, and enters freely into
all bodies ; — its nature is analogous to the electrical fluid, — or electricity, in
the common acceptation of the term, —and hence it forms a medium through
which communication is effected between distant bodies of the universe. As
this connecting medium is extremely rare, and as the planetary bodies fly
through space with an amazing velocity, it is very easy to conceive that a
wave-like motion may be given to this subtle fluid, which motion will continue,
like the waves made in still water by agitation, following each other in rapid
succession till impeded by coming in contact with a denser medium; that.is, by
the atmospheres of the different planetary bodies which are constantly and
uniformly traversing space, with various velocities, of various magnitudes,
densities, and specific gravities ; hence, then, we may readily conceive the
electricity of our atmosphere to become agitated, and that agitation to pro-
duce those varied results we witness from day to day, nay, from hour to hour,
either in the change of temperature or pressure, the change in the direction and
force of the wind, — and to the same source, too, may be traced the fertilising
shower, the refreshing dew, the gentle zephyr, the pinching frost, the de-
structive storm, and the overwhelming hurricane, all, all are results of these
powerful electrical agents. :

“« Having dwelt very largely on the astral theory, I will now briefly glance at
another theory in name, but indentical with the astral theory in operation and
result. [allude to the electrical theory, as found in the Atmospheric Almanac *,
a work which professes to have calculated the changes of the weather upon the
theory of an universal electric action, induced through the agency of the sun and
moon. ‘This theory is founded upon the sun and moon being the only external
causes, but that geological locality and physical position, or, in other words,
the earth per se, is a mighty cooperating agent in their production. Now, I
am willing to grant these positions to the electrical theory, but still we find
such deviations from that regular series of results that would be induced by
the sun and moon only, and the earth per se, that we are tempted to look for
other agents which may have their portion in the great work of atmospheric
changes ; and, as each planet is but a fraction of the whole unit of our solar
system, we cannot suppose that any portion can be useless in preserving the
exact order of the whole machine, any more than we can part with a single
finger without mutilating the whole hand: I am, therefore, strongly inclined
to think that the author of the Atmospheric Almanac has taken into his calcu-
lations the influences of the planets, although he will not avow it ; my reason
for thus thinking is, that most of his storm periods occur at those very periods
when there are many planetary aspects formed,— hence, if the sun, moon,
and earth, alone are capable of affording a solution of all the problems relating
to atmospheric phenomena, then is the astral theory fallacious and un-
scientific ; but if there be phenomena which the electrical theory cannot
satisfactorily account for, and that the astral theory will clearly demonstrate,
then is the electric theory correct only in part, and as a whole cannot be
received.”

* By John Russell Hinde, Esq.

General Notices. 373

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.
Art. I. General Notices.

THE Landscape-Painter.— But let us come to the landscape-painters, Na-
ture’s own limners and interpreters, they who should be not merely the de-
lineators, but also the poetical translators, of all that she has of fair or
beautiful, of terrible or sublime ; men whose hands should be such servants
to their eyes, and their eyes to their souls, that the facts and deeds of the
material universe should be conveyed by them to all men in legible and har-
monious characters. The landscape-painter is one of that order of Nature’s
priests whose duty it is to represent, as it is of others to proclaim, the order
and excellence of the Creator’s works ; and, in this exercise of his function
he is required to use the same warmth of feeling, the same ardour of imagi-
nation, the same desire to bring out and put forward all that is brightest and
best in what he beholds, as the poet is, whose sphere of descriptive action is
limited to words, and the extent of whose delineative powers is determined by
the white paper and the flowing pen. It has been justly remarked, that the
painter of inanimate objects should not attempt to give them merely as they
are, that is, as they strike his own individual perception; but that there
should be a certain selection of the good, and a suppression of the bad parts,
which may be sure of producing an agreeable effect upon the minds of his
fellow men,—that is to say, of his judges. So much of the beauty of an
assemblage of objects, or of its ungracefulness, depends upon the frame of
mind of the observer, that the reason of this precept is readily perceptible ;
and sanctioned, as it has been, by the almost uniform practice of all the
greatest masters, it may now be laid down as a fundamental canon of art.
The fact is, that the vulgar and uninformed mind is rarely so much touched
by the mute language of the creation, the real “ harmony of the spheres,” as
it ought to be: it is dull in perceiving the analogies, and in feeling the asso-
clations, of ideas to which a cultivated mind is all alive, when the eyes are
feeding on some exquisite specimen of the Almighty’s handiwork : the eye
has no communion with the soul, and the ideas that are impressed become
easily effaceable from the barren tablets of the memory. It is not the peasant
who feels the beauty of. the spot on which he lives; it is the man who is a
reader, a thinker, a searcher after what is good and great; who knows how,
not only to admire the glorious works of the Parent of good, but also to
praise the beneficent hand that has placed him amidst them. As with men,
so it is with rude or partially civilised nations ; the love for landscape-painting
is one of the latest tastes that spring up amongst them ; and it is a branch of
art that is only beginning to develope itself when the others have reached a
state of maturity. “Of all modes of painting,” says M. Délécluse, a French
critic of great renown, “that of landscape seems to be the one that most re-
quires experience of art, and long and laborious observation of nature. Nearly
all the famous landscape-painters, Claude Lorraine and Poussin among
others, only betook themselves to their styles at a late period, and attained to
excellence in them only after long study of nature, and when their well
practised hands had overcome all difficulties of practical execution. Land-
scape-painting, in the course of a painter’s works, holds nearly the same place
as descriptive verses and moral descriptions do in those of a poet: in each
case they are the results of maturity of age, of the autumn of life: landscape-
painting is the last mode that is thought of being adopted ; and it may be said
that, in general, the descriptive style in literature, like landscape-painting in
art, is only appreciated, and therefore only cultivated, at certain epochs of
civilisation, when disgust for men and things leads back the mind to simple
ideas, and the grand calm pictures of nature, (Literary Gazette, June 6.
1840.)
BB 4

374 General Notices.

On the Preparation of Timber by M. Boucherie’s Method.— All the journals
have been much occupied with the valuable discovery of M. Boucherie. It is
known that this physician has endeavoured to profit by the vitality which re-
mains in trees for a short time after they have been cut down, to make them
absorb liquids which penetrate with facility through their wood, and, that by
making use of conservative liquids, he has communicated very important pro-
perties to the timber; but this method, however good it might be, had this
disadvantage, that it could only be put in practice at certain seasons of the
year, when the trees manifested the greatest vital activity. M.Boucherie now
announces to the Academy that he has found a very simple method, which
allows of his making use of his preparations at all seasons. According to his
new method, the liquid which is to be absorbed is poured on one of the ends
of a piece of wood recently cut, and after a longer or shorter period of time,
according to the sort of wood operated on, the liquids peculiar to this wood
are first seen to flow out of it at the lower extremity, and the preparation is
complete when the liquid used for filtrating appears at the same end. This
fortunate discovery is attended with excellent results ; as, by making use of
this method, the liquids peculiar to trees, such as resins, for example, may be
extracted with great facility, and without losing anything ; thus, M. Boucheric
says in his letter, that in one day, by operating on two trees, he was enabled,
with the assistance of two workmen, to extract 4850 quarts (litres) of liquid.
M. Arago further states that M. Boucherie affirms that the wood which had
absorbed liquids saturated with salts of iron presented a much greater re-
sistance to projectiles impelled by gunpowder. We shall conclude what
relates to M. Boucherie, by saying that he has found the means of making fruit
absorb liquids, which he had not hitherto been able to do. To obtain this
result, it is only necessary to place the fruit in a medium entirely deprived of
humidity ; by this means M. Boucherie has been able to make certain sorts of
fruit absorb a great quantity of sweetened water. (Le Temps, Feb. 1841.)

Disinfecting Night-Soil and Stable-Dung. — Mr. Brabyn, in a communication
to the Royal Cornwall Gazette, has pointed out the disadvantage of the com-
mon practice of mixing lime with night-soil, in order to render the latter a
valuable manure. He states that by this process the ammoniacal salt, which
constitutes one of the most valuable parts of the night-soil, is decomposed ;
the lime robs it of its carbonic acid, and caustic ammonia, a still more vola-
tile compound, flies off in gas: thus we have got rid of all the nitrogen the
organic compound contained, and the efficiency of the night-soil is greatly
impaired. Mr. Brabyn recommends the following process :— To every 100]b.
of night-soil, add 7lb. of sulphate of lime (gypsum) in powder. A double
decomposition will ensue; and the result will be, instead of sulphate of
lime and carbonate of ammonia, carbonate of lime and sulphate of ammonia,
the latter a soluble salt which cannot be volatilised. It might now be mixed
with other compost, or dried in any way thought proper, and applied to the
root of the vegetable. I would also suggest that the floors of stables be
strewed from time to time with a little sulphate of lime, whereby they will
lose all their offensive smell, and none of the ammonia which forms can be
lost, but retained in a condition serviceable as manure. In close stables the
horses’ health would be better preserved, and they would not be so liable to
get blind as now. (Gard. Chron., March 20. p. 183.)

Hoarfrost. —“ On the localities affected by hoarfrost, the peculiar
currents of air affected by it, and the temperature during its occurrence at
high and low stations,” by J. Farquharson, LL.D., was resumed and con-
cluded. The author states that he has been accustomed, for the last forty
years, to make observations on the occurrence of hoarfrost, and the circum-
stances under which it takes place, with a view of obtaining a correct
explanation of the causes of that phenomenon. It is well known, he observes,
that the localities chiefly affected with hoarfrost are the bottoms of valleys,
and land-locked places of all kinds, whether natural or artificial. The alti-

General Notices. - 375

tude to which its effects reach on the sides of the valleys is dependent on the
mean temperature of the day and night at the time of its occurrence: when
that temperature is high, the lower places only are affected by the frost ; but,
when low, the frost extends to much higher grounds. Hoarfrost occurs only
during a calm state of the air, and when the sky is clear ; but the stillness of
the air in the bottom of the valley is invariably accompanied by downward
currents of air along all the sloping sides of the valley ; and it is to this fact,
first noticed by the author, that he wishes more particularly to direct the
attention of the Society, as affording a decisive proof of the correctness of
the views he entertains, being im accordance with the theory of Dr. Wells.
He finds that after sunset, in all seasons of the year, and at all mean tem-
peratures of the air, and whether or not the ground be covered with snow,
whenever the sky is clear, although there may be a dead calm at the bottoms
of the valleys, currents of air, more or less strong and steady, run downwards
on the inclined lands, whatever may be their aspect with reference to the
points of the compass. These currents are the result of the sudden de-
pression of temperature sustained by the surface of the earth, in consequence
of rapid radiation, by which the stratum of air in immediate contact with that
surface, becoming specifically heavier by condensation, descends into the
valley, and is replaced by air which has not been thus cooled, and which,
therefore, prevents the formation of hoarfrost on the surface of these de-
clivities. (Atheneum, April 17. 1841.)

Average Temperature at which Seeds will germinate.—I till my garden with
my own hands, and take great delight in it. It not only furnishes a whole-
some exercise, but it affords me a much relished mental recreation, in watch-
ing the curious developements of the vegetable world, its recuperative powers,
and, indeed, its pathology and physiology generally. Part of the experiments
which I have made are intended to show at what average temperature at noon
various seeds will germinate, and how many days are requisite for them to
vegetate at any given temperature. Thus, I find that the Lima bean, at a
temperature of 88° (in the shade) will appear.above ground in seven days; ‘at
a temperature of 62° it requires twenty days. The marrowfat pea, at 51°, re-
quires nineteen days ; and at 74° only eleven days. Radishes vary with the
temperature from six to twelve days. Thus the average temperature of any
country, other things being equal, may be inferred with considerable accuracy
from the periods of vegetation ; for, in looking over my long list of recorded
experiments, I find a great degree of uniformity in the process of germination,
in ordinary circumstances.

After various experiments, I have succeeded in ridding my peas of the bug
(Bruchus pisi). Immediately after gathering the seed, I subject them to the
action of boiling water one minute; by this means I destroy the little grubs,
or larvee, which at this time are just below the integuments of the pea, without
destroying the vitality of the seeds. If the peas remain in the boiling water
four minutes, most of them will be killed, but not all ; of about forty peas
thus treated last year, three vegetated, and are now growing. The corcle, I
find, is more tenacious of life than the cotyledons. (Dr. J. T. Plummer ; in
Silliman’s Journal, Jan. 1841, p. 198.)

Growth of Fig Branches without Roots. — In the autumn of 1839, I made a
basket for an orchideous plant from the branch of a fig tree ; which, when filled
with suitable materials and hung up, soon commenced growing, producing
leaves of a moderate size, and also roots, which penetrated the fibrous mass
filling the basket. As these produced a curious appearance, and afforded
agreeable shade to the roots of the plant cultivated in the basket, I allowed
them to remain, and during the growing season shoots 2 or 3 inches long
were formed, and ripened. This has been the case annually, and the
young shoots of the present season are bearing fruit ; which is, I think, a
-curious and very striking instance of the very different treatment plants may
endure, and still be able to complete every purpose for which they were

376 General Notices.

created. As the usual shade and moisture applied to orchidaceous plants is
wel] calculated to maintain such a growth, without much effort on the part of
any plant so unnaturally situated, I may mention that this is not the case to
any extent where the plant in question is growing; it is suspended from the
roof of a house containing a miscellaneous collection of stove plants, where
no shade, save that afforded by creepers, is ever applied, and the growth of the
fig being used as part of such shade, it is within a few inches of the glass, and
is exposed to every ray. In making, or rather filling, other baskets, I depo-
sited amongst the materials an eye or two of the fig tree ; not only to pro-
duce the appearance and shade mentioned, but because I fancied that epiphytes
naturally growing upon living objects might succeed better in a living mass,
than in materials inert and decaying. These eyes soon vegetated, and pro-
truded through the crevices, and are now bearing fruit; thus proving that
very little support is necessary to keep in perfect health a plant generally de-
nominated a gross feeder.— NV. M. T. Folkstone, May 28. 1841.

Striking from Leaves—In the spring of 1838, previously to his leaying
Downton, unfortunately never to return, it occurred to Mr. Knight’s inventive
mind, that plants might be propagated from single buds and leaves only.
Accordingly, he had several pots filled with a fine sandy loam; the pots were
about 12 in. in diameter, to receive the cuttings, which he prepared himself.
The buds and leaves were cut out, as is usually done when intended for in-
sertion in stocks, with but a very small portion of the alburnum to each. The
kinds that he operated upon. were, double camellias, magnolias, metroside-
ros, acacias, nerilums, rhododendrons, and many others. The soil in the
pots having been previously pressed firmly down, and the surface made per-
fectly smooth, the cuttings were inserted with a dibber, so as just to cover
the bud, when the soil was pressed firmly against it. The back of the leaf,
Jying on the surface of the mould, was fed by absorbing moisture from it.
The surface of the pots was quite covered with leaves, but so disposed that
they did not overlap each other; they were then gently sprinkled with water,
covered with bell-glasses, and placed on the flue of a forcing-house. The
sprinkling was afterwards frequently repeated, and the glasses shaded from
the sun, by hanging paper over them. In a short time, the buds were seen
breaking through the surface of the mould, and by the end of summer some
of them had made shoots 6 and 8 inches long, especially the camellias,
which were then potted off. The others, that had not made equal progress,
remained as they were until the following spring, when they likewise were
potted, and found to be firmly rooted. Since that time I have tried other
sorts with equal success; but, perhaps, plants that have large leaves are best
adapted for this mode of culture. (S. Lauder, Downton Castle, Jan. 14, 1841 ;
in Gard. Chron., Jan. 23. p. 53.)

Sawdust as Manure.—There are many sawpits round this town; and it has
been invariably found, that, when the dust is from deciduous trees, it can be
rotted into a soluble mass; but, when from fir trees, it will lie for years, and
reduces with difficulty, after a long period, into an earthy-looking substance ;
it is the resin that prevents fermentation. The best way to ferment it would
be, to mix it with acid and mucilaginous substances, which contain nitrogen,
an indispensable article in all fermentations; yeast, where it can be got, is the
very best. Hot fermenting manure, as before recommended, is also of great
avail; but, from our experience of it in swine-dung, we should think hardly
sufficient for sawdust of resinous trees ; for other sawdust, or for peat, it is
quite sufficient. We think, all things being taken into consideration, unless
acid and mucilaginous substances and yeast are easily procurable, and not ex-
pensive, the best way would be to burn the mass of sawdust, as it is likely
to be from deal, that being most used. We shall then have the potash and
other salts or metallic bases of the wood, and some charcoal; while the resin
will be dissipated by the burning. There is not so much potash in the fir wood
as in some other woods, but what there is is valuable. (R. Lymburn ; in
Gard. Chron., Feb. 6. p. 85.)

General Notices. Bri

Smoke-Flues, closed Hot-water Pipes, and Water in open Gutters, as Modes
of Heating.—The old system of heating by smoke-flues appears a most im-
proper one, from its tendency to rob the air of the moisture suspended in it.
The system of heating by the circulation of water in closed pipes is an im-
provement, but is also exceptionable for the same reason, or some other acting
very like it. Corbett’s mode of circulating hot water in open gutters appears
to me to be the best yet adopted, from its throwing off moisture in proportion
to the volume of heat. I consider that a-moist stagnant atmosphere is more
injurious than a dry one. (S. H., Crumpsall, near Manchester; in Gard.
Chron., March 20. p. 181.)

Objections to turning-in Snow when Digging or Ploughing.—The evil of dig-
ging-in snow, results from the “great quantity of heat required to reduce ice
or snow from the solid to the fluid state. A pound of snow (newly fallen)
requires an equal weight of water heated to 172° to melt it, and then the
dissclved mixture is only of the temperature of 32°. Ice requires the water
to be a few degrees warmer to produce the same result. When ice or snow
is allowed to remain on the surface, the quantity of heat necessary to reduce
it to a fluid state is obtained chiefly from the atmosphere; but, when buried
so that the atmospheric heat cannot act directly upon it, the thawing must be
very slowly effected by the abstraction of heat from the soil by which the
frozen mass is surrounded. Instances have occurred of frozen soil not being
completely thawed at midsummer, when so buried. But this is not the whole
of the evil; the moisture of the air which fills the interstices of the soil will
be continually undergoing condensation as it comes in contact with the cold
portions ;” and accordingly these portions will be found in a very saturated
condition, even after they have become thawed. (Robert Thompson; in Gard.
Chron., Feb. 6. p. 89.)

Canker in Fruit Trees, Mr. Beaton is of opinion, may be prevented by
grafting on stocks which it has been previously ascertained will suit the par-
ticular soils on which the trees are to be planted. ‘“ We all know,” he says,
“that certain plants prefer particular soils, and dislike others, but no one can
tell the reason. When a young fruit tree shows symptoms of premature decay
or canker, the fault, or rather the misfortune, is ascribed in nine cases out of
ten to the subsoil; but this is a hasty conclusion. The worst garden or
orchard soil in the kingdom produces some healthy tree; and if only one,
why not more of the same species or variety ? Simply, because there is only
one of the stocks used in this instance which prefers that particular soil.
Now, if we take pieces of the roots of this particular stock, and graft on them,
we may reasonably expect that, other circumstances being favourable, they
will produce trees as vigorous and healthy as their parent stock on that par-
ticular soil, though they might refuse to do so on soil which we would think
more propitious for them.” (D. Beaton, Gardener to Sir W. Middleton, Bart.
Shrubland Park ; 1 Gard. Chron., March 20. p. 179.)

Root-G'rafting.— The practice of increasing rare plants by root-grafting is
now so well understood among gardeners, that whenever any difficulty occurs
in propagating a new or scarce plant by the ordinary modes, the gardener first
ascertains the natural order to which the new comer belongs, and then takes
the roots of the nearest allied plants he can find, on which he grafts the shoots
of his new plant with as much confidence as he would the apple or the crab,
and generally with as much success ; hence, one good reason out of many why
gardeners and all horticulturists should study the affinities of the vegetable
kingdom ; and hence, too, one practical illustration of the advantages of the
natural over the Linnean or any other artificial system. (Jdem; in Gard.
Chron., March 20. p. 179.)

The Wickerwork Dahlia Protector is made of wickerwork, and consists of
an inverted shallow basket, to which is attached a tube made of the same ma-
terial, through which the dahlia stick is passed, and a peg being inserted
between the stick and the tube, it is firmly secured at any height required.
It measures 12 in. in diameter in the widest part, and 1s 35 in.in depth. From

378 Foreign Notices : —- France, Asia Minor.

being made of so light a material, and from its simplicity of construction, it is
not easily displaced or put out of order; and the flower, not being confined
within anything, is less liable to be damaged by coming in contact with any
substance that would injure the petals. It requires to be painted to preserve
it from decay, and if the outside be made green, and the inside white, the
appearance of them would not be disagreeable, and the insects lurking inside
would be easily perceived. (C. F.; in Gard. Chron., March 20. p. 181.)

Nets dyed Blue, German gardeners have found from long experience to
be more effective in deterring small birds, especially sparrows, than nets of any
other colour. That blue should be a repellant, is no more incredible than that
red should be an attractive, colour to birds ; and that this latter is so, every
fowler can bear evidence. Larks, it would appear, were formerly attracted to
snares by red glass. (Charles Bathurst, Jan. 1841; in Gard. Chron., Jan. 30.

. 70.

ee among Orchidacee.— Having seen many enquiries respecting the
best mode of destroying woodlice among Orchidacez, I beg to offer the fol-
lowing mode. Take a potato, and cut it in half ; then hollow it out, and place
it on the surface of the pot of the plant infested, and you will find in the _
course of a few hours the potato nearly full of the insects. The above method
Ihave tried myself with Orchidacez, these being troubled with them more than
any other plant, and in the course of a fortnight I found I had but very few
left.—Z. Wooster. Albion Road Nursery, Apri 30. 1841.

Art. II. Foreign Notices.

FRANCE.

NEW herbaceous Peonies.— A number of seedlings have been raised by M.
Guerin Modeste, 84. Rue des Couronnes, at Belleville, near Paris, of which
the following six are said tobe of a superior description : —P. officinalis speciosa
striata, P.o. anemoneflora striata, P. o. élegans, P. 0. Victoire Modeste,
P. o. pulchérrima, and P. o. litea variegata. Flowers of some of these kinds
were sent to us by M. Guerin Modeste; but, though the stems were passed
through corks into bottles of water, and the bottles fixed upright in a box,
so that the petals could not touch any of the sides, in short, though they were
packed in the very best manner, yet, when they arrived at Bayswater, every
petal had dropped off. — Cond...

ASIA MINOR.

Chips of Firewood for giving Light.— This use of firewood, cleft or torn
into strips, and especially of the root of the tree, is well known, and is described
in an instructive essay lately published by Mr. Arthur Aiken, “ On artificial
Light from solid Substances, and the Manufacture of Candles.” (Trans. Soc.
Arts, 1839, vol. iii. p. 4,5.) But the account here given by Mr. Fellows,
from his own observation, enables us to form a much more exact and accurate
idea of the practice. When compared with the passages referred to by
Mr. Aiken, and with those which I shall now cite from Theophrastus, it
appears to me to warrant the inference, that this method of obtaining arti-
ficial light has prevailed in Asia Minor for nearly 3000 years. According to
Theophrastus, the best tree for yielding touchwood was the Peuke, which
is still called Peukos by the Greeks of Asia Minor, and is the Pinus mariti-
ma of Linneus. (Zhe Rev. James Yates; in Appendix to Fellows’s Journey
in Asia Minor in 1838.) The passage to which the above note refers is as
follows : —

“I think that I have not mentioned that the light generally used in this part of
the country, even in the large town of Kootaya and the other towns through
which I have passed, is a chip of the fir tree. The people make a wound

Foreign Notices : — India, America. 379

in the tree, which draws the sap to that part, and the tree is then cut for fire-
wood, reserving this portion filled with turpentine for candles. I was sur-
prised to find how long they burned ; during a meal, a piece is placed between
two stones, and it burns with a large flame and a black smoke for half an hour.
At Aizani they brought some of this resinous wood to light our fire ; and when
any one of our party quitted the room, he, with his large knife (a weapon which
all carry), split off a slip which served him for a candle. We met people
in the streets at Kootaya carrying them; but the rich use tallow candles,
in the excellent and elegant lantern of the East, made of folded paper.”
(Journey, §c., p. 140.)

INDIA.

Education in Travancore. — The rajah of Travancore has done what has
not been done in England, Scotland, or Ireland; he has established a
school in every village of his dominions, and he gives education to every
child, male and female. There is not a child in his dominions, that has
reached eight years of age, who is not capable of reading and writing. The
rajah is only twenty-eight years of age, and he was educated by his prime
minister, a Brahmin, who was educated by Elias Swartz, the author of Flora
Botanica. (Sir David Brewster, at the British Association in Glasgow ; as reported
in Lit, Gaz., Oct. 31. 1840.)

The Roses of Ghazeepore.—In the beginning of July we embarked on the
Ganges, now full to the brim. If any person wishes to luxuriate among roses,
let him repair to Ghazeepore, where the whole country, for some hundred or
two of square miles, is thickly covered with them. Rose-water and the ex-
quisite attar of roses are, consequently, cheaper here than in any other part of
India; though the latter, when genuine, must always be a most expensive
article, from the enormous consumption of roses in its preparation. It takes
a prodigious quantity of the petals to make an ounce of attar; and to produce
a quart bottle would require, I suppose, a heap about as big as St. Paul’s.
(Trifles from my Portfolio, by a Staff Surgeon, vol. i. p. 184.)

AMERICA.

Maple Sugar.—1n a former communication I alluded to the great blessing
which, thanks to a kind Providence, the people of the middle, western, and
northern states enjoy, in the excellent light-coloured sugar made by them
very early in the spring, by tapping the sugar maple tree. Immense quantities
are annually made. The following fact on this subject is just published.
“General Chauncy Eggleton has the most extensive sugar camp in the State
of Ohio; it is situated in Auburn, Geauga County. His sugar-house is
furnished with fixtures and apparatus for manufacturing 500 Ib. of sugar daily.
A reservoir capable of containing 60 or 80 barrels receives the sap, whence
it is drawn into iron pans placed over a furnace, to be boiled down, and trans-
ferred again to a large kettle for ‘sugaring off’ 2700 trees have been tapped
this year, though the season has not been favourable for making sugar. In
some seasons he has made as much as 10,000 lb. The quantity made by him
in one season, three or four years since, brought $1250.” The expense of the
fixtures, apparatus, and capital is trifling, compared with the requisites for
the beet sugar manufactory, at which no attempts have been made in the
United States.—J. M. Philadelphia, April 16. 1841.

Royal Botanic Garden, Berln, June 11. 1841. — Very near three years
have passed since I had the pleasure of writing to you. Since that time I
have seen a good deal of foreign countries. Before I left home, October,
1838, I mentioned to you that I was preparmg for an expedition to the
Havannah, with the intention of collecting plants, and other objects of natural
history. Dr. Pfeiffer, the author of the Monograph of Cactee, went with me :
his intention was particularly to discover some new Cacti, and also shells, as
he is at the same time a good conchologist. Unfortunately he did not find a

380 Foreign Notices : — America.

single Cactus, with the exception of Opintia hérrida; but he made a very
good collection of new land-shells in the short space of two months. After
that time he returned home. I remained six months longer at Cuba, visited
several parts of that beautiful island, and went as far as Trinidad de Cuba, on
the south coast, where I got poisoned by cutting a branch of Comocladia
dlicifolia, which obliged me to return to the Havannab. My face and body
swelled to an immense size, and | had to suffer a great deal. I found nothing
very particular at Cuba, but yet I made a pretty good collection. The island
is too much cultivated for the botanist, and not safe enough to travel alone;
the Simarones, or the runaway negroes, being very dangerous. I wrote for
new leave, support, and permission to visit South America; which being all
granted for another year by the government, I left Havannah in the end of
September, 1839, and sailed to New York, the shortest way to get to La
Guayra (South America), as there is no opportunity direct from Havannah to
La Guayra.

Nothing need be said about gardening in New York ; the Linnzan Botanic
Garden and Nurseries of W. Prince and Son, at Flushing, being the only good
establishment : his collection, particularly the trees and shrubs, is pretty rich.
At Philadelphia there are more love and taste for gardening. Mr. Buist has a
- most beautiful establishment : it contains a fine collection of good, new, and
well cultivated plants. Bartram’s Botanic Garden is an old establishment
(since 1717), famous for some ancient and large trees, as Quércus hetero-
phylla (Bartram’s oak), 40 ft. high ; Bignonia radicans, 10 ft. high, and
the stem 14 in. in diameter; Cupréssus disticha, 98 years old, 60 ft. to 70 ft.
high, stem 4 ft. in diameter. The magnolias and pines are very fine. My old
. friend, Mr. Brackenridge, was then at Rio Janeiro; he went as botanist and
gardener to the United States’ exploring expedition to South America.

After a short stay at New York, I sailed for La Guayra, where I soon made
a good collection of Cacti, orchideous plants, &e. Some months afterwards I
went to Caraccas, whence I ascended to the very top of the Cordilleras, the
Silla de Caraccas, 8100 ft. above the level of the sea, where I found beautiful
and rare plants, as the Bejaria glatca, /edifolia, Gaulthéria odorata, and many
ferns and orchideous plants. I next visited the valleys of Aragua, the famous
Lake of Valencia, the finely situated town of Valencia, and Puerto Caballo,
where I made good collections. Near Caraccas I found the Galactodéndron
titile, the cow tree (Palo de Vaca), but on a very different spot from where
Alex. de Humboldt and Sir Robert Ker Porter found it. I drank a good
quantity of the milk, alone and mixed with water and coffee, and was not able
to distinguish it from common milk. It is very little used by the inhabitants.
The trees were about 90 ft. high. The young plants which I sent home died
on the passage.

At the end of September, 1840, I left La Guayra, with the intention of
going by the Orinoko, Rio Negro, and Amazone rivers to Para, the northern
province of the Brazils. I was accompanied by a Brazilian naturalist from
La Guayra. I went by sea to Cumana, thence by land and river to Cu-
manaroa. I visited the famous cavern at Caripe (the Cueva de Guacharo),
and discovered its very end. Baron de Humboldt entered only one third.
M. Codazzi, who was employed as geographer and naturalist by.the govern-
ment of Venezuela, for making a correct map of the republic, and to distin-
guish her boundaries, &c. &c., explored this famous cavern nearly to its
termination, but did not pass the little lake which stops the road in the
cavern. When I came to this spot, the Indians told me that no person could
go any further, and that those who entered the lake would be drowned.
After more than half an hour’s persuasion, I at last prevailed on them to go
further; and with the greatest danger we passed the lake (8 ft. deep, upon
soft bottom), and mounted the little hill, on the other side of which we again
met with water, and could not advance more than ten minutes, because the
cavern finishes there in a pointed angle, where only a little water enters, which
forms the small river running through the whole cavern, The Indians were

Retrospective Criticism. 381

much pleased with the discovery, as it was said amongst them that the cavern
ended in the Gulf of Cariaco. The cavern is one of the finest and largest in
the world. The quantity of the famous and rare Guacharo bird (Steatornis)
is immense, yet it is very difficult to shoot many of them. The Indians
prepare an oil from the young ones.

Following my journey, I went by Aragua to Maturin, both very neat villages
or towns in the interior of the province of Cumana. I then embarked in a
small canoe, went down the river Guarapiche, crossed the Gulf of Paria, and
entered one of the many branches (lafios) of the Orinoco. I stopped some
days at Pedernales, and went up the Orinoco to Barrancas, where I got the
ague, which prevented me from going any further up the river. I grew worse
and worse, and was obliged to go to the interior of the province of Guayra
to a more healthy place. I left, therefore, Barrancas, and went to Caroni, a
small Indian village, but very healthy place, situated on the river Caroni,
famous for cataracts. I recovered very slowly, the fever not leaving me; for
which reason I quitted Caroni after a fortnight’s stay, taking the road to
Upata, the beginning of the Missiones, and thence I went into the interior as
far as Tumerenco. Mr. F. Hamilton, the son of the late English consul at
Angustura, a young but very rich man, and quite a Creole, invited me to his
estates in the Missiones, to make there my collections. After three months’
stay at his different places, I left him for various reasons. He got married at
the time to a young Creole; and I, for my part, could not get well again, and
also found myself terribly cheated by my fellow-traveller. 1 could do nothing
better than start with my collections of plants, birds, and insects, which were
now pretty good, for Angustura, where I fortunately soon found a German
vessel bound for Bremen, in which I took my passage; and after a very
quick voyage of only thirty-three days, arrived at Bremen, and soon after
reached Berlin.

My collection consists of a great number of good and rare things, and a
great many have shown flowers. The plants are described by Dr. Klotzsch,
who is going to publish them in the Linnea. During my absence great
alterations had taken place in my country, and the most of them for its
benefit. I found a new king and new ministers. I have had the honour to
be received by His Majesty. I intend to publish my travels, and have already
begun with them ; but it is a hard work for me, as I have little time on my
hands for such an undertaking. If there is any subject connected with my
pursuits of which you want to hear particularly, please to let me know, and I
shall feel the greatest pleasure in communicating any information I may
possess. — Hdward Otto.

Art. III. Retrospective Criticism.

THE Derby Arboretum.— Some weeks since I received the Derby paper
containing the long and interesting account of the opening of Mr. Strutt’s
Arboretum. The good people of Derby are the more obliged to Mr. Strutt,
from the circumstance of his munificent gift being made during his lifetime;
and he evinces his superior wisdom by so doing, in place of leaving a sum for
the purpose in his will, as rich men commonly do. My object in making this
remark is, to influence rich men in this country to follow his example.
Stephen Girard, a French merchant or rather a Frenchman, but resident here
since 1777, left, in 1832, seven millions of dollars to the Corporation of Phila-
delphia, for effecting a variety of purposes, and, among others, for building a
college for orphans, two millions being specifically appropriated for this object.
The trustees are now erecting a marble palace, which had not its equal in
Athens, according to Steward and Revett’s views (unless I mistake, for it is
some time since | perused them). Great loss has been sustained by the funds
left, in consequence of the failure of the bank of the United States to pay di-

382 Retrospective Criticism.

vidends, and to the lamentable depreciation of the stocks themselves. Now,
had he built the college himself, he might have enjoyed the pleasure of seeing
it filled by the intended objects of his generosity ; but his sole delight was to
add to his immense wealth. His legatees or heirs could not moreover have
interfered with his design, whereas they have commenced a suit in chancery
against the corporation, on the ground that it could not legally be the heir of
the deceased.—J. MW. Philadelphia, Feb. 5. 1841.

Plants adapted for a Conservative Wall.— Perhaps you will allow me to set
your correspondent T. B. (p. 334.) right, with respect to the list of plants
furnished by me for a conservative wall. In the first place, he says “ I turned
with avidity to Mr. Scott’s list, but only to find that such a one as your cor-
respondent Mr. Kent (p. 45.) requires has still to be written.” This may be
true; but I did not write expressly for Mr. Kent, but in accordance with a
wish expressed by the conductor, a month before Mr. Kent’s wishes appeared,
and which T. B. might have done also: or, if he did not choose to do that, he
might have furnished Mr. Kent with one of a more select description ; as
the chief end I had in view was, to record all the species which I knew from
experience could be cultivated with success against such a wall as that at
Chatsworth, for which T. B. has such a longing. Why did he not wish at
once for the great wall of China? He would, at least, have had room, soil,
and situation at command, and I the pleasure of seeing my enumeration
flourish without the necessity of being crowded upon the short space of seven
miles. As to the merits of a selection, that is just as it may happen to please,
for the same things do not please every body: “ Qui pretend contenter tout
le monde et son pére?” If T. B. will come out of his mask (for I hate to
see a candle under a bushel, or wisdom in disguise, they have a look sus-
picious), and communicate with me, I will endeavour to form, under his more
critical acumen, a list that may meet the wishes of Mr. Kent: but I must
beg to decline any further communication with T. B. incog., lest he should
turn out to be like Byron’s Junius, “really, truly, nobody at all.”

Now, with respect to IIlicium floridanum, and Cotoneaster microphylla and
rotundifolia, whatever T. B. may have found them, as regards hardiness, in
his particular locality, I have nothing to do but merely observe en passant
that I have seen all three killed to the ground by frost; as also Hrica aus-
tralis and Salvia aurea last winter in the open border ; and Kérvza japonica fl.
pléno much damaged by having its branches killed back above three fourths
of their length : consequently they are introduced in the list as requiring slight
protection, such as a projecting coping similar to that at Chiswick, where, by
the by, there is one of the finest specimens of Cotoneaster microphylla trained
against the wall that I have ever seen. As to Bérberis and Mahonia, they are
introduced as fine plants adapted for a wall without protection, and are marked
as such with a dagger (+). Bignonia capreolata, I allow, is quite hardy, and a
most desirable ornament to a wall; it is marked in my list as requiring slight
protection, which, at least, cannot do it any harm. I have only a few words
more to say to T. B. as to his being able “in a few years” to furnish a list from
experience, if he had the Chatsworth wall. I make no doubt but that he wants
the wall, and is likely to want it, as I presume the Duke of Devonshire con-
siders Mr. Paxton competent to make the best use of it ; although Mr. Kent
and T. B. would infer that it is but indifferently clothed: but this is Mr.
Paxton’s affair, not mine. As to the inference that my list is not from ex-
perience, all I can say for that is, that I have then thrown away my labour,
and many an hour stolen from sleep, to cater for the materials, and have been
sixteen years doing what T. B. would have done better in a few. However,
I did my best to present your readers with a bill of fare, which may serve some
of them to glean from until T. B. provides them with one deduced wholly
from experience, and which, of course, will throw into the shade the un-
meritorious production of —Jokn Scott. Lower Tooting, June 5. 1841.

THE

GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,
AUGUST, 1841.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Art.I. A Gardening Visit to Paris, from June 28. to August
16. 1840. By the Conductor.

(Continued from p. 302.)

VERSAILLES. —We witnessed the magnificent sight of the
grandes eaux on the first Sunday in August, and devoted three
other days to the pictures and statuary in the palace, the
kitchen-garden and forcing-ground, and the gardens and nur-
series at the two Trianons. ‘The idea of occupying the palace
as a national museum, open to all France, and, indeed, to all
mankind, every day in the year, was in accordance with the
spirit of the age, and such as might have been expected from a
man of so much sound sense and enlightened humanity as the
present king. It is a sort of consecration of the labours of
Louis XIV., or rather of his age, which almost reconciles us to
their enormous expense. ‘The public gardens were in good
order; but the geometrical beds did not appear to us quite so
well supplied with flowers as those in the Palais Royal and at
Fontainebleau. One scene, however, in the lower part of the
garden, made ample amends, by being filled up with geraniums,
petunias, fuchsias, and other plants in pots, after the manner
of Baron Rothschild’s garden at Surenne. This part of the
grounds, about an acre in extent, is laid out in the natural
manner; and the turf was green, and in very good order. It
is surrounded by an irregular border of trees and shrubs, very
well broken into recesses and projections; and the interior is
yaried by groups. All these bays, and the recesses, and also
the detached groups, were bosomed up with plants in pots,
more especially scarlet geraniums and white petunias. The
display 1 is brilliant, and quite different from anything ever seen
in England. It is greatly admired by the French ; but we
could ineinen at the time, nor on reflection since, bring our
mind to approve of it. Onur taste is formed on a dierent:
model, that of the secluded lawns and glades of English plea-
sure-grounds ; such as are met with, for instance, at Kenwood
near Hampstead, at Pain’s Hill, and a few first-rate places. Our
1841.— VIII. 3d Ser. ec

384 Gardening Visit to Paris,

opinion, therefore, is, that those who admire scenery of the
kind described as existing at Versailles, Surenne, and, more or
less, at all French villas of any note near Paris, have had their
taste formed on a peculiar model, and one which is deficient in
truth and nature. If we continue to insist on this opinion, it is
because we wish to have it questioned and discussed by others
as well as by ourselves, in order ultimately to arrive at the
truth.

Near the Grand Trianon, a few acres of ground have recently
been laid out in the English manner, by M. Massé, the Director-
General of the Gardens of the Crown, by the king’s orders. On
objecting to the round clumps, and stating that, as no fences
were required, the same effect might have been much better
produced by single trees placed at irregular distances, so as to
form connected groups, M. Massé informed us that he said so
to the king, but that the latter insisted on having clumps, as
being in better taste! We could not help thinking, at the time,
that the king had probably taken his ideas from that passage in
one of Sir Walter Scott’s reviews, in the Quarterly Review,
where he echoes the sentiments of Sir Henry Steuart, in which
the latter says, ‘‘ If masses must be planted in parks... . what
shape can be adopted more generally pleasing than that of the
circle, or the oval, or some modification of it?” With great
respect for the memory of Sir Walter Scott, we cannot allow
that he set an example of good taste in architecture or garden-
ing, either in his works or in his house and grounds. We have
no doubt his expressed sentiments in the Quarterly Review, got
up for effect, as most of his reviews are, have done harm. His
assertion, in the Quarterly Review for 1827, that the Scotch fir
commonly sold in nurseries is an inferior variety brought from
Canada, could never have been made by any person who had
the least practical knowledge of the pine and fir tribe. Not
only is the Scotch pine not a native of any part of America, but
there is no American pine whatever sufficiently hardy in this
country to produce cones in the immense quantities which the
‘¢ mean-looking tree” from Canada, which, Sir Walter Scott
says, ‘is called par excellence the Scotch fir,” is said to do.
The just celebrity of Sir Walter Scott as a novelist and poet,
however, led the public to place implicit confidence in his state-
ments respecting landscape-gardening and planting, of the prin-
ciples of which he may be said to have known nothing.

The grounds of the Trianon bear, perhaps, as close a resem-
blance to those of the retired parts of an English villa as any in
the neighbourhood of Paris; but they are spoiled by too many
walks being seen at the same time, which detracts from the idea
of seclusion which ought every where to prevail in such a scene.
For this reason, in all imitations of the natural, or English, style,

Jiom June 28. to August 16. 1840. 385

there should seldom be any other walk seen by the spectator
than that on which he is walking. ‘This may always be con-
trived by slight elevations of suns near the walks, or by the
judicious inter position of evergreen shrubs, as we have hinted at
in the description of Garden ‘Cottage, Cheshunt, in our preced-
ing volume. We do not say that there are not many cases in
which the glimpse of a walk in an inviting situation at a distance
may not be desirable to invite the spectator onward; on the con-
trary, we hold it asa principle that glimpses of walks, of seats, tem-
ples, ruins, remarkable trees, mounts, or pieces of water, should
frequently be obtained from the walks of extensive grounds, as
helps to the imagination. Every straight walk in the geometric
style leads to a “terminating object distinctly seen; and every
winding walk in the natural ‘style exhibits nothing that gives the
idea on termination: it “ still begins, but never erie

It is remarkable that the name of the Englishman who laid
out the gardens of the Petit Trianon, in the time of Louis XVI,
is unknown. The queen, Marie Antoinette, is said to have
dressed herself like a peasant, and spent whole days in that
character in these grounds, occupied with her dairy and with
poultry ; partly a a proof of her unfitness for her situation, and
partly of the unfitness of the royal office, as it then existed, for
the condition of humanity. (See Miss Martineau’s admirable
little work, The Peasant and the Prince.)

In the collection of trees and shrubs we found a few interest-
ing plants; but, on the whole, it was less complete than we
expected. ‘T'wo or three of the trees which formed part of the
Ecole of Jussieu still exist, particularly two fine specimens of
Quércus Psetdo-Suber. A cedar of Lebanon, 50 years planted,
is 65 ft. high; £’phedra monostachya, 5ft. high. (M. Massé
informs us that there is one at Toulon 20 ft. high, where it is
called Barbe de Jupiter.) Populus heterophylla grafted on P.
fastigiata, it is said, forms a more durable little tree than when
on its own roots: the stock increases much faster than the
scion. A hybrid has been raised here between Juglans régia
and J. nigra, which is very distinct, both in the fruit, Teena, aan
smell: it Sneventheless matures fruit, from which young plants
have been raised; a fact which, with others we met with in the
Bois de Boulogne, induces us to think that several of the
American species of Carya are hybrids produced by accidental
crosses. Many young plants have been raised of A’Inus cordata,
which vary so much in their leaves that several distinct varieties
might be selected: one resembles the 4. subcordata of Meyer,
another the A’lInus communis. There is a curious variety of
Abies communis, about the size of the Araucaria imbricata at
Kew; and with the branches not frondose, but having branchlets

depending in curves like those of the plant referred to; and with
cc 2

386 Gardening Visit to Paris,

leaves similarly disposed, but much smaller. Altogether it is a
very remarkable plant. It has received the name of Abies
communis mucronata. Pinus Cémbra succeeds well grafted on
Pinus sylvéstris. We had here a proof that Pinus romana of
Loddiges and the Horticultural Society’s Garden is the P. cala-
brica of Vilmorin, Poiteau, and other French botanists. Cun-
ninghamza lanceolata is above 15 ft. high, in a vigorous thriving
state, and stands out every winter without the slightest protec-
tion. ‘This plant suffers less during the winters of Paris than
during the London winters, though the former are so much
colder: the reason probably being, that the air of Paris is so
much drier than that of Wonder and also that the wood is
ripened better from the hotter summers. It seems very probable
from this, that the Mexican pines could stand the open air well
in this part of France; an opinion which is strengthened by the
fact that Pinus australis (P. palustris Hort.) thrives admirably
in the Bois de Boulogne, where, 5 or 6 years planted, it is
nearly 10 ft. high. About London, and at Dropmore, it requires
protection, at least in severe winters. ‘The purple beech, grafted
on the common beech, is planted at the base of a south wall,
and the shoots are trained against the wall, in order to procure
a straight stem and rapid growth. Amygdalus incana, against
a wall, is 12 ft. high. ‘The common Scotch rose is here clipped
into the form of cones, 6 or 8 feet high. Quércus sessiliflora
incana is the same as Quércus pubéscens Lod. Cat., and Quércus
sessiliflora pubéscens Arb. Brit. Quércus australis here is a
variety of Quércus lex. Acer créticum, from the Morea, has
broad leaves, and is the Acer coriaceum of Lod., also raised
from seed by M. Camuset in the Jardin des Plantes. A'cer
monspessulanum latifolium is the A. lobatum of the Jardin des
Plantes and of Lod. 4. trifidum Thouzn is the A. rotundifolium
of the Jardin des Plantes, and 4. O’palus of Arb. Brit. The
Lilas Charles X. is a variety of the common lilac, with the
flowers in compact racemes.

In the reserve, or private, flower-garden, near the kitchen-gar-
den at Versailles, we observed extensive supplies of plants for the
borders, and for decorating the rooms of the palaces during the
winter season. Immense quantities of violets, lilies of the
valley, roses, and other flowering or fragrant plants, are kept
in pots ready to be forced in low pits heated by dung, smoke in
earthenware tubes, or by hot water in earthenware pipes or in
copper tubes.

The kitchen-garden at Versailles is one of the most spacious
in Europe, and we hope it will not be lost sight of in forming
the new one at Windsor Castle. It is square in form, contains
about 12 acres, and is surrounded by a broad terrace, 4 or 5 feet
higher than the area of the garden, and which terrace is occu-

Srom June 28. to August 16. 1840. 387

pied by a broad carriage walk, and the border for the fruit trees
which clothe the surrounding walls. Exterior to this garden, at
one angle, is a forcing-ground; and at another is a small garden,
containing the house which was occupied by the celebrated
Quintinie, the architect of the garden, and the head gar-
dener during the time of Louis XIV. The walls are well
covered with pear trees, peaches, and vines; and in the borders
throughout the gardens all the best French and Flemish pears
are cultivated en pyramide or en quenouille, in the manner adopted
in the Chiswick Garden. One of the crops most extensively
cultivated is the alpine strawberry, with which the royal table
is furnished, from the open garden, from June to October, and
great part of the rest of the year from hotbeds. These straw-
berries in France are preferred to all others; and deservedly so,
as we think, as far as flavour and duration of crop are concerned
(see p. 266.). ‘The plants are abundantly supplied with water,
which is given them overhead even during the hottest sunshine.
On remarking on this to M. Massé, he observed that it did
them no harm whatever, and that the extent to which watering
was obliged to be carried in the garden was so great, that it was
performed during the whole day. ‘The same thing takes place
in all the florists’ gardens about Paris. The earlier crops of
grapes, peaches, plums, &c., had been gathered; but there were
succession crops in an excellent state. ‘The kinds of grapes
forced are chiefly varieties of chasselas; but the muscats are
cultivated for the later crops. The most remarkable circum-
stance, however, connected with the royal kitchen-garden at
Versailles, is the mode of cultivating the pine-apple, and the
success which has attended that mode (see p. 200.).

There is a house devoted to the Miisa, some plants of which
have large spikes of fruit; and, if its flavour should be liked in
France, it will form a most valuable addition to the dessert, as it
can be cultivated in large quantities with the greatest ease. We
found here many dozens of pine-apples ripe, or nearly so, and
others in every stage of progress. Many of the full-grown
Envilles were as large as any which we have seen during the
time of Plimley in the forcing department at Kensington ; and
many of the plants had large fruit on their suckers, such as we
have seen at Wentworth House, and other places in Britain,
and in the royal kitchen-gardens at Munich, as described by one
of the royal gardeners there in our volume for 1829, p.427. M.
Massé, whom we believe to be the third successor of Quintinie,
holds the situation of Intendant of the Gardens of the Crown,
for which, from his botanical acquirements and great experience,
he is eminently well adapted, showed use very attention and the
very greatest kindness; and gave every explanation that we
required, during two of the ieee that we devoted to Ver-
| ce

388 Gardening Visit to Paris,

sailles. We take this opportunity of returning our best thanks
to M. Massé, and to his foreman in the forcing-ground, who
furnished us with a plan of a boiler of his invention, well
adapted for heating where the fuel is of wood. To the
foreman at the nursery at the Trianon we are also equally
obliged.

Close to the kitchen-garden at Versailles are the grounds of a
villa, which had been laid out and built by Louis XVIII. when
dauphin, for one of his mistresses. There is an immense cave,
or grotto, formed of stones brought from the Forest of Fontaine-
bleau ; and in front of it a lake, of nearly an acre, surrounded
by glades of lawn and wood; the whole in a state of utter
neglect. We did not go into the kitchen-garden or the house.
This property, we were informed, was sold during the first
revolution for a smaller sum than would now be procured for
the lead pipes which convey the water to the grotto, if they
could be dug up. We enquired if Louis XVIII. had ever
come to visit this villa after the restoration, and were answered
in the negative. ‘This place, when we saw it, was on sale; and
by an Englishman of taste, and a little property, it might be
made a terrestrial paradise.

Neuilly, the private property of the king, is an extensive
place, with a flat surface; and, as it appeared to us, rather
too much cut up with walks, roads, and trees. ‘There is no
breadth of effect any where. ‘There are one or two good points
about Neuilly, however, which it may be worth while to mention.

The unity of a willow scene, as seen from a wooden. bridge,
and the greenness of the lawn near the house, are both worthy
of notice. ‘The house itself has neither dignity nor elegance,
nor can we say that there is any display of good taste within the
domain. Nevertheless, we love the place on account of the
esteem and respect which we have for the owner and his family.
The house is approached by carriages on both fronts, a practice
general on the Continent, but happily rare in England; because
it strikes at the root of all privacy and seclusion. In every
country house in England, from the smallest cottage to the most
magnificent palace, there is always a public and private front:
the former, or entrance front, exhibiting a porch or portico, at
the door of which the stranger knocks, and to which carriages
drive up; and the garden, or lawn, front, commonly on the op-
posite, but at all events on a different, side of the dwelling, to
which no carriages or horsemen, nor no stranger on foot, can
approach without the knowledge of some part of the family.
Hence, on this lawn or garden front, ladies and children may
walk out at all hours of the day, unseen and undisturbed by
visitors who may call at the entrance-front. In our opinion,
there can be no true enjoyment in a country house that has not

Jrom June 28. to August 16. 1840. 389

a private front, as well as a public one: but we go further, and
say, that even if the private carriages and horses of the family
are allowed to come up the private front, as they are at Neuilly,
the peculiar privacy of that front is destroyed.

The road to the principal entrance-front at Neuilly is a straight
avenue between two straight parallel beds of flowers: which,
at the time we saw them, were filled mostly with geraniums, pe-
tunias, dahlias, and standard roses. Strange as it may appear,
these beds of flowers are not so offensive to us as clumps and
borders of shrabs bosomed up with the same kinds of flowers :
because in these beds they are not in pots, but turned out in the
free soil; and not being shaded by trees, or mixed with them or
with common shrubs, they have a much greater air of truth.
The plants in these beds are so far apart that each takes its par-
ticular shape; and some portion of the soil being seen between
them, no doubt is left on the mind of their being planted in it.
The plants in pots which are employed to bosom up clumps, on
the other hand, are crowded together in such a manner as to
present an unvaried surface, and a mass of colours pellmell, as
Chevreuil observes, which, compared with that of plants grow-
ing apart in a border, is deficient both of variety and truth.

In 1828 there was a tolerable collection of trees and shrubs
in the nursery-ground here, which we were anxious to examine,
expecting considerable additions to have been made; but instead
of this, the numbers were considerably diminished by the ra-
vages, as it was stated to us, of the ver blanc. We found
Sophora: japonica péndula beautifully in flower; some seminal
varieties of A'cer platandides, obtusatum, and monspessulanum,
obtained from M. Audibert of Tarascon; and near the river an
old plant of U/Imus effusa, believed to be the largest in the neigh-
bourhood of Paris. ‘The tree, at some former period, had been
cut over, and there are now three immense trunks proceeding
from the same base. ‘The wood is said to be much heavier and
more durable than that of the common elm. Among the green-
house plants we found the Philippodéndron régium 10 ft. high, with
the habit and appearance of the poplar-leaved birch; but it is far
from belonging to that family, as supposed in our volume for
1840, p.5. From a dried specimen kindly given us by M. Jacques,
the royal gardener, it appears to be much nearer Urticaceze than
Amentacee.

St. Cloud. — The walks and roads here, as at Versailles and
Meudon, were quite free from weeds and smoothly raked. ‘The
erass, also, was not badly kept, considering that it is a mixture
of unsuitable species, among which spring up numerous salvias,
plantagos, and other broad-leaved plants. In the hanging
woods, the undergrowths have all been cut down, leaving the

surface quite naked and black from the absence of vegetation.
cc 4

390 Gardening Visit to Paris,

Had the surface of the ground had any character of regularity,
and had the trees been at such distances as to form an open
grove, and to allow the grass to grow beneath, this clearing away
of the undergrowth would have been justifiable, as creating an
artificial character well adapted to the geometrical style; but at
present the trees are too close to admit of the growth of grass,
and the surface is too irregular to admit of being reduced into
regularity without rooting up the trees in some places, and
burying them too deeply in others. All that can be done, there-
fore, with a wood, under such circumstances, is to cover the
ground with undergrowths, and especially with evergreens, such
as yew, holly, box, &c., thinning out the trees to such an extent
as to admit of this undergrowth growing with vigour. We
were anxious to know what was intended by clearing away the
undergrowth, but could not find the head gardener, and, for the
same reason, we were unable to see the king’s private garden.
We afterwards learned that it had reference to the frequent
attempts on the life of the king; undergrowth being favourable
to concealment.

Here, as at some other royal palaces, the roads and court-
yards appear disproportionately large for the buildings, and the
latter are deficient in architectural display, and particularly in
light and shade. We should be inclined to try, if possible, and
narrow the roads and courts by broader margins of turf, and
where the courts are paved with stone, we would substitute wood
or asphalte.

Sceaux. — In our ninth volume we have noticed several villas
at Sceaux, and especially those of the Admiral Tstschigoff and
the Countess de Bruce; but both these, and all the others
that we then saw, have changed proprietors. The excellent
effect of grouping the trees in the villa of M. Sartorius is visible
from the public road ; and presents a succession of scenery very
different from that of a villa having only the same number of spe-
cies as this one, but, instead of these species being grouped so as to
show one kind always prevailing in one place, presenting them
everywhere indiscriminately mixed, so that one part of the
plantations and shrubbery has exactly the same appearance as
every other.

Verriéres. — The villa of M. Vilmorin is interesting as a beau-
tiful rural retreat, kept at all times in the highest order, and
also as exhibiting specimens of most of the horticultural and
agricultural seed-bearing plants which are to be procured in
the commercial house of Vilmorin, Andrieux, and Co. The
collection of wheats was very numerous, and also those of
barleys, peas, kidneybeans, and, in short, we may say, of every
plant of which seeds are kept in the seed-shops, as well as of
potatoes of different kinds for their tubers. Among the newest

from June 28. to August 16. 1840. 391

vegetables was Scdlymus hispanicus, the roots of which we
had an opportunity of tasting at M. Vilmorin’s table, and found
them equal to those of scorzonera. In the kitchen-garden there
is a very full collection of gooseberries, which was sent to M.
Vilmorin by the Horticultural Society in Mr. Sabine’s time; and,
though no care had been taken to supply the plants with water,
yet the fruit was nearly as large as in England, probably
in part owing to the greater caldnessvoti the present season.
Among the trees and shrubs we found several species of Ame-
rican oak growing with great vigour, more especially Quércus
alba, ihn is rare in the ance, ane very seldom seen in a healthy
state in England. Q. Tadizzn is also here in great vigour; and
Q. eons, known as Q. apennina, with various others: There
are a number of stools of Crataegus apiifolia, raised from
seeds received from Washington, some plants of C. cordata,
with other American species. We tasted an excellent late
cherry called Napoleon, which does not appear to have been
introduced into England; and M. Vilmerin directed our attention
to another wild cherry with pendulous branches, the fruit ripen-
ing late, and the tree an extraordinary bearer. In the shrub-
beries on the lawn are two plants, 10 or 12 feet high, and of as

many years’ growth, of Acer créticum; the one wait scarcely any
leaves lobed, “anil the other with scarcely any leaves entire. In
the woods M. Vilmorin found U’Imus montana Z., known here
as Ulmus campéstris latifolia, with the soft wood a the young
shoots of a dark red, as already mentioned ; and, from seedlings
of Robinza glutinosa, he found the common R. Pseud- Vicia
with shoots not glutinous. ‘These facts only deserve notice,
because it has been hitherto customary to give herbaceous plants
only the credit of coming true from seed. Our belief is, that
R. glutinosa is only a variety of R. Pseud-Acacia; and, there-
fore; we are not surprised that seedlings raised from it should
occasionally revert to the original species. It is not, however,
the less desirable tree for being a variety; and, in short, we
believe it will be found that all the hardy plants best worth cul-
ture, for use or ornament, ligneous or herbaceous, will be found
to be more or less deviations from the wild species; and almost
all the handsomest very distinct varieties to be cross-breds, and
even hybrids.

Belleville. —'The village of this name is situated on some of
the highest ground in the neighbourhood of Paris; and, being
the resort of the working classes on Sundays and other holidays,
it is covered with small ‘country houses and guinguettes, or what
in England would be called tea-gardens. line common lilac is
here paced on a large scale fon the sake of the flowers, which
are gathered and sent to the flower-market. We visited the
villa of M. Audot, the publisher of the Bon Jardinier, and him-

392 Gardening Visit to Paris,

self the author of several useful works on gardening, and were very
hospitably and kindly received by that gentleman. M. Audot’s
garden, which may contain an acre or upwards, is interesting
from the number of objects it contains, and from the oood
account to which it is turned, both in an ornamental and useful
point of view. ‘There is a garden-house as a study, several
plant-houses, pits, and frames, and a small farmyard for poultry,

rabbits, pigs, a cow, &c. In short, there are few things belong-
ing to a small suburban villa which it does not containt

“The Elysée Bourbon, and the Hotel of the English Ambas-
sador, are street houses, with parallelogram gardens, of about
a quarter of an acre in extent each. ‘The middle of the ground
is hollowed out lengthwise, and the sides raised and undulated,
so as to produce a very good effect; and, these sides being
planted, a shady walk is procured under trees and among shrubs,
of which, had care been taken at the time of planting, there need
not have been more than one or two of a kind. Nothing more
can be made of limited pieces of ground of this kind without
introducing either the Italian terraced, or an architectural,
garden, or a system of walks crossing each other in grotto-like
tunnels, by which any small place with a dry subsoil may be
made to appear many times larger than it really is.

The only defect in the two gardens mentioned is, that they
are not united architecturally with the house. Mr. Gordon, the
gardener of the English ambassador, keeps up a considerable
collection of greenhouse plants, and has the whole place in good
order. With the exception of a small room, silvered instead of
gilt, there is nothing in the interior of the EKlysée Bourbon de-
serving of particular notice. The meagre finishing of the large
dining-room, one end of which is a mirror without a frame,
gives the idea of coarseness and want of taste. The library is a
very small room; and what is curious is, that the only book-
shelves it contains are in a gallery to which there is no means of
ascending but by a trap-ladder, which is shut up in a closet, and
which could not be used either by a lady or an elderly person of
either sex.

Nurseries and Florists’ Gardens. —'The garden of M. Tripet
Leblanc, 19. Avenue de Breteuil, and that of M. Fion, Rue des
trois Couronnes, we found both richly stocked and in excellent
order. In the former there are extensive collections of auriculas
and carnations ; and, indeed, an extraordinary degree of attention
is paid to every description of florist’s flowers, as well as to many
kinds of culinary vegetables and fruits. The garden, though, as
it were, in the heart of Paris, yet from being in an artificial
hollow, and being surrounded by banks covered with trees and
bushes, might be taken for a garden in the suburbs. The
family of ‘T'ripet have been celebrated for their tulips for three

Jrom June 28. to August 16, 1840. 393

generations, as appears by an article in the Annales de la So-
ciété de Horticulture de Paris for 1838, p.355. The garden
was originally in the Champs-Elysées, and was celebrated there
for its tulips and hyacinths about the middle of the last century.
The ancestor of M. Tripet, like the great-grandfather of M.
Vilmorin, was of a noble and wealthy family, and in both cases
resorted to culture and commerce, partly from necessity, and
partly from choice. The jardin d’ hiver in M. Fion’s garden,
or conservatory, as it would be called in this country, was now
wholly uncovered; but the plants had not yet recovered from
the effects of the sudden change from the protection and shade
of glass to the direct influence of intense solar light. We ob-
served the walks bordered with Lycopodium denticulatum, as at
Alton Towers.

The Jardin des Plantes has undergone important changes
since 1829, and is now far more complete and in better order
than ever we saw it. We were kindiy shown through the Mu-
seum by Professor Audouin, an enthusiast in everything respect-
ing insects, who showed us his mode of feeding them, each on its
appropriate species of plant, under glass bells; the shoots on the
leaves of which the insects feed being protruded through the piece
of pasteboard on which the bell stands, into a glass of water, by
which means the leaves are kept perfectly fresh. M. Audouin
is rearranging the insects in the Museum according to their
natural families and genera; and, by means of pieces of paper of
different colours, he shows at a glance the part of the world of
which the insect is a native. A large building has been erected
for the geological collection and the library. he building, in
our opinion, has little to recommend it exteriorly, and it appears
too much ornamented within for a scientific collection; but of
this building we shall speak in a future article. The library is
well arranged ; and there is here an arrangement of pamphlets
and essays or articles on subjects of natural history, such as
exists, we believe, no where else in the world. In catalogues
such as that of the Banksian Library, the contents of pamphlets
and transactions, &c., are analysed and classed together, so that
they can be readily referred to, if the books are in the library ;
but here the essays and pamphlets themselves are taken to pieces,
and bound up according to the subjects. The merit of this
extraordinary degree of knowledge, care, and labour, is due to
M. Lemercier ; who informed us that two copies of each pamphlet
or article is necessary, and that when these could not be pro-
cured in type, then, as a substitute for one copy, he used
manuscript. Labours of this kind may be compared to rail-
roads to science; since it enables the student of any one topic
to read everything respecting it in less than the time that would

394 Gardening Visit to Paris,

be required to open the books in which it was treated, not to
speak of the risk of overlooking some of these books.

The plants under glass in the Jardin des Plantes want the green-
ness, succulence, and vigour of growth of plants similarly cireum-
stanced in England, doubtless owing to the dryness of the air, more
intense solar light, and a mode of management which has not for
its object to promote vigorous growth and succulence. Indeed, if
this were the object, the plants would suffer still more than they
do when turned out into their respective places in the general
arrangement, because the changes in respect to atmospheric
moisture and solar light would be still greater than they are.
We spent three entire days in examining the hardy trees and
shrubs in this arrangement, and those in the nursery, under
the care of M. Camuset. ‘The following list includes plants
which we thought in some way or other remarkable; the order
is that in which they are planted in the garden, and the author-
ities after the names are those on the garden labels.

Latrus Benzoin, as it ripens its wood, stands the winter here better than it
does about London.

Atraphaxis undulata is hardy. A. spinosa, 5 ft. high, covered with flowers, a
truly beautiful object, and rare.

Brunnichia cirrhosa Gert., a tendriled climber, a native of Carolina, is 12 ft.
high, and quite hardy; about London it is only half-hardy.

Polygonum frutéscens, as high as Atraphaxis, and beautifully covered with
cream-coloured flowers.

Syringa speciosa is the Syringa rothomagénsis of Arb, Brit.

Fraxinus floribGnda Wal. is O’rnus floribanda of Ard. Brit.

F. O’rnus viridis Michz. is F. americana viridis Arb. Brit.

F. rotundifolia is O’rnus rotundifolia Ard. Brit.

F. monophylla is F. excélsior heterophylla Arb. Brit.

F. atrovirens is F. excélsior atrovirens Arb. Brit.

Vitex arborea Rox, is a vigorous-growing plant, with broad leaflets, dentate,
and of a much paler green than those of V. A’gnus castus or V. incisa.

V. incisa Lam. has the leaflets long, narrow, and deeply cut ; it is here 5 ft.
high, and beautifully in flower.

V. A’gnus castus is 16 ft. high, flowering profusely, and very beautiful.

V. A’gnus castus var. latifolius is 4 ft. high.

Callicérpa americana L., a native of Virginia, nearly hardy.

Salvia Hablitziana Jac.

S. scabridscula Lam., 2 ft. high.

Sideritis crética L., 4 ft. high.

Phlomis fruticdsa and P. f. angustifolia, 4 ft. high.

Solanum glaucoph#llum, 4 ft., hardy.

Lycium afrum kept in pots, and taken in every winter.

L. boerhaaviefolium is the Crabowskia boerhaaviefolia of Arb. Brit.

ZL. europe‘um, leaves long and green; L. ruthénicum, leaves succulent, re-
sembling those of L. afrum ; L. barbarum, 10 ft. high, the species common
in British gardens; L. chinénse, leaves larger than those of any other
species ; L. chilénse, leaves narrow, with short petioles.

Siderdxylon lycidides L., leaves twice as long as those of S. ténax L.

Diospyros virginiina, 30 ft. high; D. calycina, D. angustifolia, D. pubéscens,
and D. lucida, are all obvious seminal varieties of J). virginiana.

Haleésia diptera, 4 ft. high.

from June 28. to Aug. 16. 1840. 395

Artemisia procéra Willd., 5 ft. high; A. valentina, a more vigorous-growing
plant than A. Abrotanum, and equally hardy.

Cornus sibirica is Cornus alba sibirica Arb. Brit.

44’sculus ohioénsis Miche. had no fruit; but we believe it to be the true
species rather than the plant in the Hort. Soc. Garden, from the close
resemblance of its foliage to that shown in Michaux’s figure, and also
because Michaux himself assured us that it was correctly named.

44, humilis is Pavia flava Arb. Brit.

A’cer Lobelii, an exceedingly handsome specimen, 20 ft. high, is the A.
platanoides Lobel of Arb. Brit.

A, disséctum Hort. is A. platandides disséctum, a very remarkable and ap-
parently free-growing variety.

A. coccineum is A. rubrum var. Ard. Brit.

A. lobatum Bosc, a very distinct variety, or rather hybrid, with invariably three
pointed lobes which induces us to refer it to A. créticum; leaves not
velvety beneath.

A. neapolitanum, a native of the South of Italy and Hungary, &c., is A. ob-
tusatum Arb. Brit. Leaves velvety beneath.

A, hybridum Bosc, a vigorous-growing plant, apparently between A. obtu-
satum and A, Psetdo-Platanus. Leaves very slightly velvety beneath.

A. O’palus, A. opnlifolium, A. rotundifolium, are all varieties of A. obtusatum.
We have no doubt of this, having been convinced of it after examining
the plants under the care of M. Camuset, and having heard his ex-
perience on the subject of these acers. In some of these varieties the
leaves are scarcely at all velvety beneath.

A. opulifolium. Leaves small and five-lobed.

A. monspessulanum is A. créticum var. coriaceum Ard. Brit.

Tilia platyphylla Vent. is TJ. europee’a grandiflora Arb. Brit.

T. pubéscens Vent. is T. americana pubéscens Arb. Brit.

T. argéntea H. P. is 7’. europea alba Arb. Brit., a native of Hungary.

T. mississippiénsis H. P. is T. americana var. Arb. Brit.

T. heterophylla Vent. is T. americana var. Arb. Brit.

Tamarix indica Willd. is 7’. gallica Arb. Brit.

Ribes. The currants, gooseberries, and yellow and red blossomed ‘sorts, are
mixed instead of being arranged in sections. They are much in want of
revisal.

Nitraria Schoberi, 5 ft. high, and very handsome.

Neszea salicifolia H. B. et Kunth, the Heimia salicifolia Link § Otto and Ard.
Grit., is 3 ft. high, and stands the winter, as does N. myrtifolia.

Malus sempervirens Desf. is Malus coronaria sempervirens Arb. Brit.

Pyrus eleagnifolia Pal. is Pyrus communis var. eleagnifolia Arb. Brit.

P. indica Wal. is P. variolosa Arb. Brit.

Cratz‘gus latifolia is Pyrus A’ria latifolia Arb. Brit.

C. flabellata Bose is C. coccinea var. maxima Ard. Brit.

C. sorbifolia H. P. is Pyrus sptria Arb. Brit.

C. glatica Wal. is Stranvee'sia glaucéscens Arb. Brit.

C, Chamzmeéspilus Jac. is Pyrus Chameeméspilus Lindl. and Arb. Brit.

C. pyrifolia is Pyrus arbutifolia Arb. Brit.

C. spicata Lam. is Amelanchier ovalis Arb. Brit.

C. corymbosa H. P. is Pyrus A.ria crética Lindl. and Arb. Brit.

C. arbutifolia Lam. is Pyrus grandifolia Lindl. and Arb. Brit.

Meéspilus constantinopolitana Godefroy is Cratez‘gus heterophylla Flugge and

Arb. Brit.

Azarolus is C. Azarodlus Arb. Brit.

latifolia Poir. is C. pyrifolia Ait. and Arb. Brit.

spathulata is Cratee‘gus spathulata Elliot and Arb. Brit.

odorata is Crate gus orientalis Bose and Arb. Brit.

tomentosa Por. is C. parvifolia Ait. and Arb. Brit.

396 Gardening Visit to Paris,

. stipulacea is Cratee\gus stipulacea Arb. Brit.

tanacetifolia is C.-tanacetifolia Arb. Brit.

corallina H. P. is C. cordata Arb. Brit.

coccinea is C. coccinea Arb. Brit.

. pyrifolia H. P. is C. punctata Arb. Brit.

prunifolia is C. crasgalli prunifolia Ard. Brit.

Celsidna is C. tanacetifolia Leedna Arb. Brit. When we gave the plant

this name, we believed, as we were informed, that it was a seedling raised

by Mr. Lee: we shall restore its true name in the second edition of Ard.

Grit. and in a supplement. In the meantime we have done this in the

catalogue of the Derby Arboretum.

fissa Poir. is C. Aronia Bose and Arb. Brit.

flabellata Bosc is C. coccinea var. maxima Arb. Brit.

caroliniana Poir. is C. flava.

lobata Bosc is MM. Smithz Arb. Brit.

lucida is Crateegus Crus-galli lucida Arb. Brit.

affinis is Cotoneaster affinis Arb. Brit.

racemiflora is Cotoneaster vulgaris laxiflora Arb. Brit.

eriocarpa Dec. is Cotoneaster vulgaris var. tomentosa Arb. Brit.

laxifolia is Cotoneaster rotundifolia Wal. and Ard. Brit.

laxiflora Jacg. is Cotoneaster vulgaris laxiflora Arb. Brit.

Oliveriana Dum. is apparently a variety of the common hawthorn ; but

as the plant was ®t in a healthy state, it may, as Dumont conjectures,

be a variety of Cratze‘gus tanacetifolia.

Crate gus frigida is Cotoneaster frigida Arb. Brit.

MM. purpurea and M. Pyracantha are Cratze‘gi.

Prinus H. P. is in general Cérasus Arb. Brit.

P. gre‘ca H. P. is Cérasus Mahaleb var. Arb. Brit.

P. incana is Amygdalus incana Arb. Brit.

Amygdalus geérgica is A. nana var. Arb. Brit.

Duvaua depéndens is as hardy as about London.

Ptelea trifoliata, 25 ft. high; a very fine specimen.

Jiglans fraxinifolia is Pterocarya caucasica Arb. Brit.

Euénymus latifolius, a very handsome specimen, 12 ft. high.

Hartogia capénsis H. P. is Cérasus Laurocérasus angustifolia Arb. Brié.

Mex Cassine, a vigorous plant, quite hardy.

Palitrus aculeatus Lam. is Paliurus australis Arb. Brit.

Ceanothus azureus is in flower as a bush, in the open garden, and requires no

rotection during winter.

Morus alba var. italica has the soft wood of the current year’s shoots of a
dark red ; but there is no exterior indication of this, and it can only be’
found by removing a portion of the bark.

IM. constantinopolitana is a variety of MM. alba.

U Imus campéstris latifolia is U. montana Arb. Brit.

U. crispa H. P. is U. montana crispa Arb. Brit.

U. pedunculata Frey. is marked a native of France, and may possibly be the
U. effiisa of the Hort. Soc. Garden and the Arb. Brit.; but whether it
is a native or not is uncertain.

U. exoniénsis is the U. montana fastigiata Arb. Brit.

U, americana is without doubt the effiisa Ard. Brit., and quite different from
the U. pedunculata mentioned above. The leaves of this species, both
in England and France, have a tinge of red on the veins. From speci-
mens received from Dr. Torrey, we believe this plant to be correctly
named.

U. pyramidata is U. campéstris pyramidata, a very distinct variety, with a
conical habit.

Celtis mississippiénsis Bosc, very distinct.

Salix acuminata is S. Alba Ard. Brit.

Populus trémula is P. alba Arb. Brit.

SSSSSS8

SSSSSSSSS85

Srom June 28. to August 16. 1840. 397

. nivea Fischer is P. alba var. Arb. Brit.

. ere‘ca H. P.is P. tremuldides Ard. Brit.

. Hudsoneana Mich. strongly resembles P. nigra Arb. Brit., and may possibly
be only a variety of it, in which opinion Michaux concurs.

. virginiana, the Peuplier Suisse, is the P. monilifera Arb. Brit.; the male
plant is distinguished from the female by the petioles of the leaves being
red.

. canadénsis is P. monilifera var. Arb. Brit.

. ontariénsis Desf. is P. candicans Arb. Brit.

. candicans H. P. is P. balsamifera Arb. Brit.

. suaveolens Fischer is P. balsamifera suaveolens Ard. Brit.

Bétula pontica H. P. is B. papyracea H. K., and Arb. Brit.

B. urticefolia is B. alba urticeetolia Arb. Brit.

B. dalecarlica is B. alba dalecarlica Ard. Brit.

Anus communis H, P. is A. glutinosa Gert. and Arb. Brit.

Quércus crinita Bosc is Q. Cérris Arb. Brit.

Q. prasina Bosc is Q. sessiliflora Arb. Brit., with leaves glaucous, small, and

on long petioles.

Q. Tatizin Bosc is Q. Prinos Ard. Brit.

Q. Turneri, a specimen 12 ft. high.

Q. Robur Willd. is Q. pedunculata Arb. Brit.

Piatanus orientalis is P. occidentalis Arb. Brit.

Pinus Bankstdna is P. sylvéstris Arb. Brit.

P. mitis Mich. is P. inops Arb. Brit.

P. inops Mich, is P. serotina Ard. Brit.

P. excélsa is P. longifolia Arb. Brit.

It will be observed that among the foregoing names affixed to the plants in
the Paris garden, the greater number are legitimate synonymes, though there
are some, as for example, the six last, which are names erroneously applied.

M. Camuset is the chef of that department of the Jardin des Plantes which
may be called the nursery, as his duty is to propagate all the more hardy
species of trees and shrubs by seeds or otherwise, for distribution among the
provincial gardens, and for making exchanges with foreigners. Having been
nearly fifty years in the garden, he has had great experience in raising trees
and shrubs from seed, and knows the origin and history of many alleged
species and varieties. He has raised a number of seedling robinias, some of
which are in Mr. Rivers’s catalogue, and chiefly from the seeds of the original
tree brought to Europe and planted by Vespasian Robin in this garden in
1635.

The following memorandums were chiefly made on the spot :—

Clématis cylindrica Camuzi, raised by M. Camuset in 1838, differs from the
species, in having bell-shaped purple flowers, whereas in the species they
are of a somewhat bluish purple.

Mahonia Aquifolium is as hardy in the climate of Paris as the common box ;
and is therefore of great value, there being so few evergreens which will
stand through the winter in that climate.

A’cer saccharinum var. nigrum differs from the species in the leaves not being

» in the slightest degree velvety beneath ; it is exceedingly difficult to pro-
pagate, and unites with difficulty when inarched.

A, rubrum grafted on A. Pseudo-Platanus invariably forms a bulging protu-

berance immediately above the graft. Seeds from an old plant of A.

monspessulanum have produced A. créticum, A. coriaceum, A. hetero-

phyllum, and other varieties. M. Camuset pointed out plants containing
leaves with long petioles and five lobes, and other leaves with short
petioles and three lobes, on the same branch, some of which we brought
with us, as a proof that the Montpelier and Cretan maples are essentially
the same species. He also showed us on the same seedling, from the tree
mentioned, coriaceous leaves 14 in. broad, and others not half an inch
broad. From the same seedlings, there were some plants with scarcely

ae] Naf bis}

ivirsihs

398 Gardening Visit to Paris,

any of the leaves lobed. From a patch of seedlings of about twenty
plants, being all that had come up from fifty seeds of A‘cer Lobel sown,
two plants were the genuine species, A. platanoides, without the bark
being in the slightest degree striated. Seeds of A. ribrum have pro-
duced plants of A. sanguineum, which has the leaves very glaucous
beneath ; of A. coccineum, which nearly resembles A. sanguineum; and of
A, eriocarpon. A. obtusitum occasionally produces A. hybridum ; and
A. opulifolium produces A. O’palus, A. obtusatum, and other similar va-
rieties, to none of which names have been given. A. Psetdo-Platanus
has given A. trilobatum. A. lobatum is a very distinct variety, but M.
Camuset does not know its or igin. A. coriaceum was found in 1830, in
a bed of seedlings of A. monspessulanum, and from that plant all others
bearing this name sent from the Paris garden have been raised by grafting.

Af’sculus rubietmda, planted among other trees taller than itself twenty-five
years ago, has a trunk not 4in. in diameter ; but another plant of the
same species, planted in a more favourable situation on the same day, has
a trunk above 18 in. in diameter, and a magnificent head.

Vitis vulpina, the fox grape, has the male and female on different plants, and
the female has invariably the larger leaves, and is the stronger plant.
Ailantus glandulosa was planted near the museum in 1793, by citizen Thouin,
then director general of the garden, and professor of culture, who named
it the tree of liberty, which name it still retamms among French gardeners.

Huonymus nanus Bied., grafted standard high on the common euonymus,
foris a singularly handsome plant, and is never touched by insects like
the other species.

Ceanothus americanus L., raised from seed, exhibits various varieties, with
white and blue flowers.

Virgilia lutea Mich. The original plant brought over by Michaux is 30 ft. high,
with a head 34 ft. in diameter, and is now covered with legumes, forming
a singularly handsome object.

Cytisus alpinus purpurascens, M. Camuset believes to be a hybrid seedling,
which had been bought by M. Adam, among a number of other seed-
lings ; the custom of the nurserymen at Vitry being to purchase seedlings
in quantities, and grow them a year or two for sale. This, M. Camuset
thinks, is a much more rational mode of aceounting for the origin of this
hybrid than that of supposing that a shoot from the margin of a dormant
eye had produced it; and, in this opinion, in the absence of all positive
evidence, we concur. Of course this does not account for the very sin-
gular anomaly of C. ZL. purpurascens separating, as it were, into the two
original parents. Mr. Herbert’s hypothesis will be found in our pre-
ceeding volume, p. 289. and p. 381., and M. Poiteau’s in the current -
volume, p. 58.

Robina Psetd-Acacia has produced, with M. Camuset and other cultivators,
several varieties which are not yet in cultivation in the trade; in short
every bed of seedlings shows varieties more or less distinct. M. Camuset
has named R. P. longipetiolata, R. P. longispina, R. P. macrophylla, and
R. P. Norionidna, with yellow foliage, after a cultivator of that name.

R. viscosa, with M. Vilmorin, has produced plants not in the slightest degree
different from R. Psetd-Acacia.

Gleditschia triacanthos Z., from seed, has produced G. inérmis, G. macra-
cantha, and G. ferox. G. caspica and G. sinénsis seem distinct ; but
this genus varies so very much that M. Camuset is uncertain what are
species and what are varieties.

Amyedalus nana has produced A. gedrgica Dec. and A. campestris Ser.

A. inctna produces abundance of small red fruit.

A, Pérsica flore pléno, the common double-flowered peach, produces abundance
of fruit, the nuts of which invariably produce plants bearing double
flowers; a fact which seems to show that varieties of peaches come
tolerably true from seed. Hence, in some situations where the soil is

Jrom June 28. to August 16. 1840. 399

very shallow and dry below, and economy a main object, it might be ad-
visable to renew the peach trees on a wall, by planting the nuts where
the plants are finally to remain.

The Péche d’Espagne, or wild peach, produces double flowers, which inva-
riably appear fifteen days later than those of the common double-flowered
peach. This seems a very desirable variety with a view to prolonging
the season of double peach blossom, and we are not aware of its being in
British gardens. Were French postage as cheap as that of Britain,
cuttings might easily be sent by letter in the budding season.

Armeniaca nepaleénsis is nothing more than the common apricot.

Cérasus borealis and C. persicifolia are the same. <

C. hyemalis is the same as C. nigra.

C. gree‘ca is a variety of C. Mahaleb.

Prunus reclinata is a variety of the common plum, and is the same as P.
nigra.

P. Padus has produced a variety with spotted leaves, like those of aucuba.

Cratz‘gus Cras-galli salicifolia has produced seedlings with broad spatulate
leaves, deeply notched.

Ribes has varied exceedingly from seed. R. céreum has produced deep green
leaves, three or four times’ larger than those of the species. R. pal-
matum, &. macrocarpum, #. adreum, R. luteum, and #. tenuiflorum are all
produced from the same seed.

Symphoricarpus racemésus has produced a variety which retains the fruit all
the winter, and is very distinct. It ought to be procured by British
nurserymen.

Diospyros virginiana has produced several varieties ; and M. Camuset thinks
all the American kinds may be reduced to one species.

Fraxinus americana produces numerous varieties from seed.

Morus alba italica has, as already mentioned, the soft wood, or alburnum,
of the young shoots red. Whether this is peculiar to JZ. alba itdlica, or
constitutes a subvariety or a variation of the Italian mulberry, M.
Camuset is uncertain.

Maclura aurantiaca bears fruit every year ; but, the male plant not having yet
produced flowers, the fruit does not ripen.

U'\mus campéstris tortudsa is the only elm which grows freely by cuttings,
and is always se propagated in France. The tree is much prized in
France for the timber ; which, having the grain or fibres very much twisted,
will not split, and is therefore much used for the naves of wheels.

U. campéstris latifolia, the U. montana of Bauh., has, as before stated, been
found with the alburnum of the young shoots red, like that of JZorus
alba italica, and this variation is continued by grafting.

Céltis Tournefort# and C. orientalis are considered the same.

Pépulus grz‘ca, grandidentata, trépida, and trémula are varieties of one and
the same species.

P. monilifera, canadénsis, detulifolia, undulata, and probably P. nigra, are,
perhaps, essentially the same species.

P, vistulénsis, which produces finely,vemed wood, much used for small cabinet-
work in Berlin, is P. nigra.

Pinus Laricio is 75 ft. high.

We omit giving the dimensions of a number of large speci-
mens of trees in the Jardin des Plantes, as they were taken by
M. Camuset in 1837, and forwarded to us by Professor Mirbel,
and will be found in their respective places in the Arboretum.

Fontainebleau. — July 29. to 31. MM. Vilmorin and Poiteau
accompanied us to Fontainebleau by the diligence, and we re-
turned by the Seine. Between Paris and Ris the soil is deep,

1841,.— VIII. 3d Ser. DD

400 Gardening Visit.to Paris,

rich, and covered with heavy crops of wheat, potatoes, clover,
and beans. Beyond Ris we pass through vineyards containing
some standard peaches, which, in the time of Henry IV., sup-
plied the Paris market, till, in the time of Louis XIV., peaches
began to be grown against walls at Montreuil. Enter the
Forest of Fontainebleau, and pass some fine old oaks and beeches;
the oaks all Quércus sessiliflora. The blanks in the forest are
carefully filled up with Pinus sylvéstris, poplars, and various
other trees, according to the nature of the soil and the character
of the surface. The ground invarious places previously prepared;
and after planting it is kept tolerably clear of weeds. Arrived
at the town, we immediately called on M. Souchet, the royal
gardener, a most intelligent and obliging man, who showed us
every thing under his care. The English garden here, being in
a low situation, with abundance of water, the turf was of a
deeper green than in most of the places about Paris. The trees
have grown rapidly, and attained a large size; but they were
much crowded. A great many fine specimens of Populus moni-
lifera, both male and female; the latter produce abundance of
seeds, from which young plants rise in great quantities. A
variety of horsechestnut, with a fastigiate head, crowded with
straight ascending shoots. The reserve garden here is richly
stocked with plants, both in pots for supplying the palace in
the autumn and winter, and in the open ground for the borders
of the ancient garden in front of the palace. Lechenaultza for-
mosa is grown in great quantities, trained to a single stem, and
flowers the greater part of the year. Phylica ericoides, so
treated, is in flower throughout the winter. We never saw
plants better grown than they are in this reserve garden, which
is under the care of M. Souchet’s son; and the merit is the
greater, as the pits and frames are of the slightest and most
temporary construction.

The orange trees here are in a better condition than any
which we saw in France. ‘The foliage is of a deep green, the
shoots vigorous, and the heads large and handsome. The soil
they are grown in is loam, enriched with rotten dung or leaf
mould; and they are placed in the summer season in a situation
shaded by lofty trees, which, we apprehend, is the cause of the
deep green of the leaves. ‘Their vigorous growth M. Souchet
attributes to their being properly supplied with water in the
growing season, and not having too much when they are in a
dormant state. In many cases, he says, orange trees are watered
abundantly, and yet the main body of the soil is never pene-
trated by it, which he takes care shalf always be the case. ‘The
trees are kept through the winter in a stable, with very little light,
and no fire-heat.

The geometric garden is a square, surrounded by a broad
terrace, raised about 5 ft. and containing a double arcade of

Jrom June 28. to August 16. 1840. 401

lime trees, from which the garden is seen to very great advan-
tage. ‘The interior of the square is laid out in four rectangular
figures, with a large square basin and fountain in the centre.
die rectangular ficures have borders about 5 ft. broad, with
gravel walks about 3 ft. br oad, within. ‘The borders are planted
with perennial and annual herbaceous plants, in large, hand-
some, distinct bushy plants ; the greater part of which being in
full flower when we saw them, the effect was splendid. Among
the flowers which were most showy were, the common Alcirib) 2
pot-marigold, double feverfew, Petunia phoenicea and nycta-
oiniflora, ih exes, Antirrhinum majus, Zbéris umbellata Alba
and violacea; and we noticed besides, Hésperis matronalis, Va-
leriana rubra, Aconitum variegatum, Hemerocallis flava, Calli-
stéma sinénse, Alyssum saxatile, Verdénica virginiana, Campanula
Medium, Peednia officinalis, Dianthus barbatus, and a few others.
The shrubs were few, chiefly Hibiscus syriacus, pruned into
regular shapes, and placed at distances of 20 or 30 feet apart.
Nothing which we saw in France, in the way of flowers, surpassed
the beauty of these borders. ‘The interior of the compartments
is sown with Festuca ovina, without any mixture whatever of
other grasses or plants; and, notwithstanding that the soil is a
very dry sand, and is never watered, the closeness and compact-
ness of the turf were, to us, truly astonishing. It was only
deficient in colour, which was brown rather than green. M.
Vilmorin informed us that he had sent specimens to London
some years ago, which were compared with the specimens in the
herbarium of Linnzeus, and found to be the true F. ovina.
Among the lime trees which composed the double arcade on
the terrace, there is one which has the trunk
entirely deprived of its bark for the space of
about 2 ft., and which has been known to be
so for thirty years. It still continues to live,
though not so vigorous as the others. ig. 51.
is a sketch of it made on the spot by M.
Poiteau, who, with the Inspector of the Forest,
M. Marrier de Bois d’Hyver, accounts for its
livine by supposing the sap to ascend through

the interior of the trunk; the only chance, in- =~-==—~ ~
Fig. 51. Disbarked
deed, by which it could sete Lime Tree.

There was formerly a large royal kitchen-garden here; but
that is now much reduced. ‘There remains, Rowers a wall (la
treille royale) covered with vines, to which an addition has
lately been made, so that the total length is now 702 toises, or
upwards of 4200 ft. Some part of the wall is 20 ft. high, and
the remainder about 12 ft. ‘The vines are chiefly trained in the
manner of those at ‘Thomery, described in one of our earlier

volumes. Nothing could exceed the health of the plants, or the
DD 2

402 Gardening Visit to Paris,

perfect manner in which they were trained and managed under
the direction of the kitchen-gardener.

The border in front was about 12 ft. wide, not cropped, but
protected from being trod on by a low trellis, also covered with
vines. One use of this trellis, we were informed, was to afford
a few grapes to the passers by, that they might not be tempted
to take any from the wall. ‘The wall is of stone, rough-plastered,
and covered with a wooden trellis, to which the vines are tied
with willow twigs. ‘The coping of the wall is .of flat tiles, and
projects about 1 ft. to throw off the rain, which would otherwise
take off the bloom from the fruit, and render it unsightly at
table. For the same reason, the ground at the base of the wall
is covered with vine leaves and prunings to the breadth of about
18 in., to prevent the rain which drops from the coping from
splashing the grapes on the lower lines of the trellis, the bunches
of which reach within a few inches of the soil. The kind of
grape planted is chiefly the Chasselas ; but there are also some
Muscats, and other kinds, but none, we believe, cf either the
Muscat of Alexandria or the Black Hamburg. A _ peculiar
kind of mousetrap, of very small size, is inserted at intervals
between the trellis and the wall. The ver blanc is here, as every
where else, troublesome in the border.

We were conducted through the most interesting parts of the
Forest of Fontainebleau by the Inspector-General, M. Marrier
de Bois d’Hyver, already mentioned. ‘This gentleman possesses
a scientific knowledge of trees and shrubs, and of every part of
forest management; and he is, besides, enthusiastically devoted
to the subject. Previously to proceeding to the forest, he
showed us a map of the whole, including the palace and gar-
dens, as they existed before the time of Le Notre, by which it
appears that the interior of the compartments of the flower-
garden, which are now covered with Festuca ovina, were at that
time laid out in parterres of embroidery. Le Notre had simpli-
fied the design ; judging, perhaps, that the parterres of em-
broidery were too distant from the eye to produce their proper
effect. M. Bois d’ Hyver showed us his specimens of indigenous
woods, and also several pieces of furniture made of the common
juniper, from trees which afforded boards from 6 in. to 9 in. in
width. We also tasted at his table a very excellent fragrant
spirit, made from the berries of Cérasus Padus and C. Mahdaleb,
the flavour of which was somewhat like that of kirschwasser. In
proceeding through the forest, we saw numerous trees of Pinus
Laricio grafted on P. sylvéstris, numbers of which are 50 ft.
high, bearing cones. P. Strobus, P. pumilio, and P. Cémbra
are also grafted on P. sylvéstris, and doing well. There are
in the forest about 3000 hectares (about 7000 acres) covered
with pines, and about 20 hectares on which the P. Laricio is

from June 28. to August 16. 1840. 403

grafted. The remainder of the forest is covered with indigenous
oaks (Q. sessiliflora), beeches, birch, trembling poplar, and in
some places with shrubs or low trees, such as Cérasus Padus,
Rhamnus (different species), Cornus, Juniperus, Ulex, &c.
The forest is intersected with avenues and public roads in all
directions, some of them the great routes of the country, and
others made expressly for the convenience of managing the
forest. All the latter are open to the public, and form agr eeable
rides or walks; which, according to their direction, the season of
the year, or the hour of the day, are either open and exposed
to the sun, open and in the shade, or arched over with trees.
All these roads and alleys, as far as we saw them, were in excel-
lent order; the sand being hoed and raked, and the grass of the
green alleys mown. Most of the broad alleys have small side
avenues, like the side ailes of a church, separated from the main
alley by rows of trees, which are different in different alleys,
according to the nature of the soil. ‘There are some handsome
avenues of Platanus occidentalis, others of Azlantus, of Robinia,
of Gleditschza, of poplars of various kinds, of birch, of alder,
and even of Scotch pine. The management of the forest, as
described to us by M. Bois d’Hyver, appeared admirable. The
most rigid economy is preserved in every thing, and every thing
is turned to profit in some way or other. For example: there
are certain parts of the forest covered with heath, without trees,
and these are gradually being sown with seeds of the Scotch
pine or P. Laricio. The seeds are first sown on the heath, and
then the latter is sold to the inhabitants to be pulled up as fuel.
The act of pulling up is found to be a sufficient stirring of the
soil, and covering for the seeds; so that the sowing is the entire
expense. The seed is procured from cones gathered in the
forest at so much per bushel; and the cones, after being de-
prived of the seeds, are sent to Paris, and sold as a fuel of
luxury, for more than the cost of gathering them and taking out
the seeds.

All the labour performed i in the forest is let by the job; and
the reason why the alleys of every kind are in such excellent
order is, that the keeping of them is let out to different persons,
who vie with one another in keeping what is under their charge
in high order. The grafting of the pines, which was commenced
by } M. de Lemans, the predecessor of M. Bois d’Hyver, as
noticed in the Bon Jardinier for 1826, in the Gardener's Maga-
zine, vol. ii. p. 63., and the Arboretum Britannicum, vol. vi.
p- 2130., is carried on to the extent of some thousands annually;
not by gardeners or regular foresters, but merely by the guards
of the forest, whose business it is throughout the year to peram-

bulate the forest to detect trespassers. ‘Hence this grafting costs
DD 3

404 _ Gardening Visit to Paris,

nothing, as these men must be paid at any rate for their services
as guards of the forest.

Thomery.—This village is situated on the banks of the Seine,
and covers the lower part of a slope, having a north aspect. It
is, nevertheless, well sheltered from the north winds, by a con-
tinuous ridge on the opposite bank of the Seine, which directs
the north winds completely over the village. No south wind
can touch it, because that is thrown off from the upper part of
the bank of which the village forms the lower part; and it is
protected from the east and west winds by the winding of the
Seine and its accompanying banks. These circumstances have
the effect of placing Thomery in a basin, sheltered on every
side; but which, nevertheless, does not retain the cold air which
descends from the high grounds, because that is carried off by
the current of the river. Hence the suitableness of the situation
for the vine culture on walls. ‘The appearance of the village,

on first approaching it, is that of a succession of tiled copings _

to walls apparently at a very short distance from one another,
with here and there a small dwelling-house intervening, and in
the distance, by the river side, a long row of houses, which
constitutes the village. ‘The extent of ground covered by the
walls has been more than doubled within the last ten years.
The manner in which the vines are planted, trained, and ma-
naged has been so clearly described and illustrated by figures
in Vol. V. p. 286. to p. 292., that we consider it unnecessary
to enter into details. ‘The practice recommended by Mr. Hoare,
in his Treatise on the Culture of the Vine, comes the nearest to
that of Thomery of any we know, and was probably suggested
by it. On those aspects not suitable for the vine, the apricot is
planted ; and on those not suitable for the apricot, the crassane
pear is trained. The grapes, which are almost all of the light-
coloured varieties of Chasselas, are fit to eat about the middle
of August, but seldom gathered and sent to market till the end
of the month. Nevertheless, on the 29th of July we found
several bunches sufficiently ripe to be very good to eat; but the
cause of this maturity was, that the seeds had not been fecun-
dated, and hence the berries were without stones, and as small
as those of the Corinth grape. At the same time, there were
exposed for sale in Fontainebleau, as well as in Paris, grapes of
what is called the Madeleine, or, in England, the Black July,
which were tolerably ripe, and full grown; but they were de-
ficient in flavour, and such as a London fruiterer would say “no
gentleman would eat.” In the original account published of the
fruit walls of Thomery in Lelieur’s Pomone Francoise, the walls
are said to be of mud, washed over with mortar, with copings
of boards or straw: but they have, within the last few years,
been all rebuilt of stone; in most cases dry, and in some cases

Strom June 28. to August 16. 1840. 405

laid in mortar of loam, and plastered with lime, with copings of
flat tiles, forming a roof projecting about 9in. on each side of
the wall, and, consequently, balanced and held in its place by
being raised in the centre, so as to form a miniature roof. The
freestone with which these walls are built forms the substratum
of all the gardens, though it is, in many cases, too deep to be
conveniently quarried. We went through a number of the
gardens in company with M. Poiteau, M. Souchet, and one of
the principal cultivators, and found, as usual, the ground re-
markably free from weeds, and every where loose, in conse-
quence of being stirred 8 or 9 inches deep, and somewhat rough
on the surface; experience having taught these industrious and
observing men that the ground being in this state is a better
non-conductor of heat and moisture than if it were hard and
smooth; and, consequently, when the soil is warmed by the
radiation of the sun to the depth of 1 or 2 feet, which it is even
in spring, the heat does not escape so rapidly as it otherwise
would do; while the rain, not lying on the surface, cannot
evaporate so quickly.

From Thomery we returned to Paris by the steam-boat on
the Seine, passing several villas on its banks, and one or two
large mansions. ‘The most tasteful small villa was a cottage on
the top of a steep bank, with its garden, in the form of a paral-
lelogram, reaching to the towing-path. The ascent to the house
was by a regular zigzag path to a rustic arch in a terrace wall;
which, doubtless, led to the offices, while the terrace was on a
level with the living-rooms. The most English-looking places
which we saw were, the Park of Fromont, M. le Chevalier Sou-
lange-Bodin ; and Petit Bourg, the residence of the Spanish
banker, M. Aguado. This wealthy and liberal gentleman has
built a suspension bridge across the Seine, and sold it to the
department at a price merely nominal. We passed several sus-
pension bridges and several stone bridges, some arches of which
had been blown up during the invasion of 1814, and were not yet
rebuilt. Such are the miseries of war ; though these are nothing
when compared with dragging away children from their parents,
and forcing them to the cannon’s mouth, as must necessarily
have been the case in France in many thousand instances.

The Palace of Fontainebleau, and the villa near it which for-
merly belonged to Madame de Pompadour, occupied us the
greater part of a day. The palace is extremely interesting, in
an architectural point of view, from the different styles which it
exhibits, and more particularly those of Francis I. and Louis XIV.
The first is characterised exteriorly by immense windows in the
upper part of the building, where, in most manners of archi-
tecture, the windows are generally smallest, about a third of the

height of these large windows poe in the upper part of the
DD

4.06 Gardening Visit to Paris,

walls, and the remaining two thirds in the roof; and another cha-
racteristic is straight jambs and lintels to the chimneys: while the
style of Louis XIV. has the largest windows on the second
story, or what in England is called the first floor, with windows
entirely in the roof; and, interiorly, curved lintels and jambs
to the chimneys. Other descriptive details might be given of
the two styles, but these we think are specific features. To
describe the palace in detail would occupy a volume. We shall
only notice the Chapel of St. Saturnin, built by Louis VII. in
1169, which is the oldest part of the building; the Church of
the Trinity, and the Pavilion of Louis 1X. The great body of
the palace was built by Francis I. and Louis XIV. Henri IV.,
who inhabited this palace with the fair Gabrielle d’Estrées,
built la Cour des Cuisines and part of that of des Princes.
Louis XIII., the son and successor of this king, was born at
Fontainebleau in 1601; and was baptised under an open cupola
raised over an archway which leads from one large court to
another, in order that the baptism might be seen by some thou-

sands of persons, who were assembled in each court. This_

cupola is called the Cupola of the Dungeon; a dungeon, it is
supposed, having originally existed beneath it, but at present
there is no indication of anything of the kind.

The Villa of Madame de Pompadour is at present in possession
of M. le Baron de Hanequert; whose son-in-law, M. le Marquis
Boiseplat, was so good as to show us the plan of the house and
grounds as originally laid out. ‘The situation of the villa is
quite near the palace, but separated from the palace gardens by
the public road. The piers of the private gate by which
Louis XIV. went privately from the palace, across the public
read, to the gates of Madame de Pompadour, still exist in
the wall, the place of the gates being built up. Madame de

Pompadour’s villa must have been exceedingly convenient; and —

from the extent of stables, coach-houses, and other offices at-
tached to it, she must have lived in good style. The house was
entered through a large square court of honour, paved. To the
right a wall separated this court from the offices; and to the
left a similar wall, with a similar gate, separated it from a small
flower-garden, containing an orangery, a fountain, and some
ornamental buildings. On the garden front of the house,

a long narrow parterre extended to a considerable distance;

and on the right and left were bosquets, intersected by various
straight walks, radiating from stars and patées-d’oye. Be-
yond was the kitchen-garden. The whole was surrounded by a
high wall, which, however, had openings in two places to admit
views along glades in the forest. These openings are protected
exteriorly by deep pits, which are called sautes-de-loup, a term
which is generally applied to the opening itself. ‘These openings

Srom June 28. to August 16. 1840. 407.

only differ from our ha-ha, or sunk fence, in not having the
outer side sloped. ‘They are, therefore, much more effective
as barriers, though extremely dangerous to men and cattle. -
Those of Madame de Pompadour were 30 ft. in length,

12 ft. wide, and 9 ft. in depth, the side walls being perpen-
dicular, and without the slighest indication of protection; so
that in a dark night any animal wandering near such a pit, and
perhaps attracted by a light proceeding from the windows of the
house, might very readily fall into it, and death, or at least
broken limbs, would be the certain consequence. The soil
being a dry sand on the peculiar sandstone of the district, we
suppose no water ever stood in them.

The present proprietor has arranged the grounds in the
modern manner, and some very good kinds of ornamental trees
and shrubs are planted in them; but there is not obtained a
tenth of the comfort and enjoyment which such a place is cal-
culated to produce, partly, perhaps, from these not being de-
sired. What particularly struck us was the wretched state of
the trees on the walls, not a fourth part of the surface of the
latter being covered with branches.

The town of Fontainebleau for merly contained some large
palaces, the residences of the nobility, attendants of Louis XIV.,
but they have been razed to the ground, and the materials said
since the first revolution; and the chimney-pieces of these pa-
laces have long since been fixed in England. We were also
informed by the Baron Hanequert, that some of the chimneys
belonging to the royal palace were purchased many years ago
oka a ‘part of the building was taken down, and that sien
remaining several years ina 1 cellar, they ultimately found their
way to this country.

From Paris we returned to Rouen by the Seine, and from
Rouen by the same conveyance to Havre; passing the interest-
ing Chateau de Landin, described in our Vol. for 1829, p. 644.,
and the still more interesting Chateau de Tankerville, which was
purchased by the celebrated financier and gambler Law of
Laureston. ‘The chateau, and seven acres of ground round it,
are, according to the guide-book, let for 350 francs a year. It
would form a delightful summer residence to an inhabitant either
of Paris or of London.

Havre.—We unfortunately had not time to visit the collection
of the British consul, Gilbert Gordon, Esq., or that of M. Eyries,
and some other zallac Same known to us by reputation as being
well worth examining. We had a delightful voyage to South-
ampton, where, after visiting Mr. Page’s home nursery, which
we found as usual, brimful “of plants in the very highest order,
we set off by the railway, and in three hours and a half were at
Bayswater.

408 Philosophy of Manures.

Art. II. Further Observations on the Philosophy of Manures.
By R. Lympurn.

Srnce writing to you before, on the publications of Professors
Daubeny and Johnson on the subject of manures, there has
appeared a very able review of Dr. Liebig’s work in the Quar-
terly Journal of Agriculture. ‘The intimate knowledge displayed
of chemical action, and the cautious manner of applying it to
practice, I think, point out Dr. Madden as the author. ‘The
reviewer, after giving great credit to the transcendent abilities of
Dr. Liebig, says that, nevertheless, his application of them to
practice has given great disappointment; and that old theories
must still be adhered to, till some more decided proofs of their
fallacy are brought forward. Dr. Liebig’s statement, that humic
acid cannot yield the carbon necessary to plants, because of its
insoluble properties, he combats by stating Dr. Liebig’s opinion,
that the ammonia so necessary to plants ‘passes through the
soil;” and he finds himself, by experiment, that neither am-

monia nor carbonate of ammonia can pass through soil without —

combining with humic acid. All the ammonia must have reached
them, therefore, in combination with humic or some other acid;
and he thinks, therefore, the greatest part of the carbon of plants
is derived from the humate of ammonia. Wheat, he says, con-
tains 1 per cent of lime and alkalies; which, combined with
humic acid 10°9 grains, would yield 6°32 grains of carbon. It
also contains 2°13 grains of nitrogen, which, as humate of am-
monia, would yield 27°3 grains of carbon; in all, 33°62 per cent
of carbon, while the wheat itself only contains 43 per cent. Dr.
Liebig has forgot, he says, in his estimate of the quantity of
soluble humic acid in soil, which he states at less than 100,000th
part, that it is a substance constantly being produced, and con-
stantly taken up, and not a permanent ingredient in the soil.
In forty-two days, the time between the flowering and the ripen-
ing of the wheat, there will have been deposited in an acre of
wheat 500 lb. of carbon, equal to 8774 lb. of humic acid, about
sour part of the weight of the soil, which the soil could not
have yielded at once, without the formation of humic acid were
a continuous one. He thinks all the humic acid in the soil at
one time will probably be consumed in ten days or a fortnight.
That neither humic acid nor humate of lime has been found
among the stalactitic formations of carbonate of lime in caverns,
he accounts for by saying that the humus is extricated from
the humate of ammonia in filtering through the soil, and de-
posited.

Where such eminent men are at variance, it would be difficult
to decide. But, perhaps, it will not be of much consequence to
the practical man, whether the humus in the soil gives off its

carbon to the roots in the form of carbonic or humic acid. ‘The -

F
eh,
F

Philosophy of Manures. 4.09

humic acid contains most carbon, but must, therefore, consume
more organic matter in its formation; and carbonic acid being
so much more largely soluble in water (rather more than its own
bulk), would seem to point it out as the medium of conveying
carbon to plants. Humic acid abounds in moss water, which is
rather prejudicial to growth than otherwise; but it contains
tannin, which is thought to act on the membrane of the spon-
giole of the roots by its astringent nature. I have seen
plants exposed to the bottom heat of bark often spoiled; they
get hard and stunted, the leaves of a reddish brown colour.
‘The reviewer notices Dr. Liebig’s admission, that carbonic acid
forms the food of the young plant by the roots, and considers it
contradictory of his former statement, that manure yielded no
carbon to plants by the soil. As to the statement of Dr. Liebig,
of soil becoming progressively richer in carbon every year, not-
withstanding the quantities of carbon extracted from it, endea-
vouring thus to show its being chiefly derived from the atmo-
sphere, the reviewer here enters into a calculation of the
quantity of carbon deposited in the soil by thirty tons of farm-
yard manure (which he estimates at 15,2817 |b.), the quantity
per acre for a crop of turnips. He next calculates the quantity
removed in four succeeding crops of turnips, barley, hay, and
oats, which he estimates at 9,5432 1b. More than a half of this
quantity, or 5,7372 lb., has, therefore, been deposited in excess,
when the field was dunged for turnips. Dr. Liebig has stated
that no more carbon is produced from manured than unmanured
land ; and has stated the quantity from woodland as 2,1664 lb.
of carbon annually per acre. ‘The reviewer, however, shows
that an ordinary crop of turnips (30 tons) will yield 2,8893 lb.,
while an extra crop (45 tons) would yield 4,3342 lb. of carbon.
It is further incorrect, he says, to consider forest land as un-
manured, when so much is furnished to it by birds and the
leaves. ‘The dung annualiy of 100 sparrows he calculates at
36 lb., of a manure five times as strong as farm-yard manure ;
and the leaves of an acre at 772 lb. of carbon. These all give
reasons for the increase of carbon, independent of the atmo-
sphere. ‘The fact, also, of firs consuming less nitrogen than the
cultivated plants, he says, accounts for the accumulation of car-
bon in woodlands. As all the carbon, he thinks, is given to the
plant in combination with ammonia, he considers ammonia as
the most important solvent for carbon; and, therefore, manures
containing nitrogen as the most beneficial. If, however, carbonic
acid itself is so largely soluble, I do not perceive the need of
ammonia as a solvent.

On the subject of nitrogen, the reviewer cordially agrees with
Dr. Liebig, in all his statements, as to the importance of this
substance. He has verified the experiments, and found the

410 Philosophy of Manures.

ammonia to have the offensive smell of perspiration, as stated.
But he found only +82, of a grain in the pound of rain water,
rather more than one twelfth; whereas Dr. Liebig made it one
fourth of a grain. Perhaps some difference may arise from rain
falling more frequently where the analysis of the reviewer was
made. This would yield only 712 1b. of ammonia to the acre.
He found, also, he says, his analysis would give 6412lb. of
common salt: it must surely have been from rain collected near
the sea. The reviewer states it as his opinion, that animals fed
on substances destitute comparatively of nitrogen, as oil-cake,
which contains little nitrogen and an excess of hydrogen, will
produce fat, and not beef or muscle, the fibrin, albumen, and
osmazome of which contain much nitrogen. Substances con-
taining nitrogen will also yield most TUSCOLA tissue, he says,
especially if steady and continued exertion be used. “That sub-
stances yielding nitrogen should be productive of substances
containing nitrogen is : certainly fair inductive reasoning; yet,
as I said before, I have seen persons fed on potatoes, con-
taining little nitrogen, who were very muscular: they had, how--
ever, plenty of exercise in the open air. Some authors are of
opinion that nitrogen is inhaled. From Dr. Liebig’s statement
of its being found, in an uncombined state, around the living
organs, it appears also to act as a stimulant. The reviewer next
notices Dr. Liebig’s opinion, ‘that sulphate of lime is valuable
as fixing the volatile salts of ammonia;” but says this is value-
less, as the particles of soil are capable of retaining { per cent
of ammonia, which would yield nitrogen for fifty years to the
heaviest crops of wheat: there can be no need, he says, for fixing
it. The sulphate of lime acts only, he says, as forming a con-
stituent of the plant. Independently, he says, of the nitrogen
contained in the soil, the 30 tons of manure will yield 2684 lb.,
or only 13 1b. less than the whole four crops of turnips, barley,
hay, and oats require.

On the subject of alkalies, the statement of the definite quan-
tities required for each plant, he says, is new and valuable. He
is of opinion, however, that every soil contains these in sufficient
quantity. As to sandy soil not producing wheat for want of
alkalies, he says an acre of wheat will not consume above 50 |b.
of potash; while an acre of turnips, which agrees with sandy
soil, will consume 9221b. The whole four-shift rotation of
wheat, barley, hay, and oats consumes 1,091 lb. of saline matter;
while the 30 tons of manure given with the turnips, he says,
yields 7,324 lb. of saline matter, or 1,556 1b. per annum more
than needed. ‘The reviewer proposes to resume the subject
again; and, when men of such talent and opportunities for
investigation thus devote themselves to such subjects, we are
certainly warranted in expecting much valuable insight to be

See,

Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 411

speedily obtained on the theory of the action of manures, sur-
rounded, though it be, with so many difficulties.

Art. III. The Landscape-Gardening of F. L. von Sckell of Munich.
Translated from the German for the ‘‘ Gardener’s Magazine.”

(Continued from p. 355.)
IL. Selection of Natural Scenes suitable for the Adaptation of the Landscape-

Gardener..

1. Narure extends her pictures in an endless multitude over our
mother earth; and these sometimes exist as they were originally
formed, or have undergone a change from the early or recent re-
volutions of the earth’s surface. An infinitely varied flora is
found in the different countries that compose the quarters of our
globe. All these plants have a peculiar character, and it is but
seldom that one is found on a spot in which it will not thrive.
The tops of the highest mountains are decorated with a peculiar
kind of vegetation, among which many plants are found which may
be looked for in vain at the base of these elevations. Some,
again, are only found in poor soil, or in moist situations ; others
on rocks, or in their chinks, or even on plants themselves. Thus
Nature operates, and so, also, must those who wish to imitate
her.

2. She proceeds almost in the same manner with inorganic
form. She produces the most stupendous mountains, the most
terrific abysses, the very aspect of which is scarcely supportable
by man, plains of immeasurable extent, valleys the ends of
which the eye can scarcely reach, eceans of infinite surface, and
lakes, with rivers that issue from high mountains as if from the
clouds, and seem to be lost in the air. All these gigantic works,
however, of the great God of Nature are not within the com-
pass of the landscape-gardener to produce; but where they
have been created by Nature, they should gratefully be taken ad-
vantage of by art, and joined to its smaller artificial productions,
by bringing the romantic distance into harmonious connexion
with the garden scene.

3. Nature, however, does not always proceed with such power-
ful masses. Her highest mountains gradually decrease to the
smallest declivity; all of which, from the highest to the lowest,
are so harmoniously united by a continuity of wavy lines, that
the line of separation is never perceptible.

She also proceeds in the same manner with her valleys, forests,
lakes, rivers, streams, and waterfalls: their variety of size and
form is endless, and no two are found to have the least resem-
blance to each other. The landscape-gardener, therefore, may
select and create, according to his taste, whatever picture suits

412 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening.

his locality, whether that be small or large, as Nature will
acknowledge it, if itis but formed after her laws, and is a
romantic picture, resembling her without being overdone.

4. ‘The landscape-gardener ought, therefore, to consider well
what natural objects he will give to the space he has to lay out,
without producing anything contrary to nature, and without
committing {an error of long standing, by crowding objects on
a few acres which in nature occupy the space of a mile. Such
practices were formerly in use, and gave rise to the idea that the
English style of landscape-gardening could not be practised on
a small space, but only on one that is flat and large.

But a space, however small, can receive picturesque natural
objects, and these can be found without difficulty in Nature
herself. A piece of ground may, therefore, be transformed into
a garden without reference to the size, so that objects are chosen
that Nature would have placed there, and sufficient space
allowed for them to have a proper effect and expression.

5. I have laid out a great many small private gardens for my
friends in the natural style, and some of them were but the
tenth part of an acre, and were only ornamented with roses and
jasmines, while others had slender and beautiful trees, and those
that were larger had a more varied plantation; and sometimes
a small hill was added, with a seat for repose, or a small valley
formed, &c.

It is well known to all observers of nature, that very small
spots are frequently seen in forests, which are beautifully en-
chanting, and quite delightful to walk in; and it is such scenes
as these that ought to be imitated by the landscape-gardener,
in a limited space. ‘The beauty of a natural garden does not
arise from its extent of surface, but from its intrinsic artistical
value, its beautiful forms and scenes. ‘

6. The landscape-gardener must, therefore, sufficiently take
into consideration what he should effect and produce by art,
otherwise he will not be successful: and he must also remember
that he cannot produce mountains, but only small hills of a
height not exceeding more than 20 or 30 feet ; and that it is not
in his power to create such bold forms of nature, as fearful
abysses, and far-projecting rocks, which hasten the steps of the
traveller, or lakes and cataracts several miles long, which have
already been mentioned as beyond his power of imitating.
Such powerful productions of nature only furnish him with
models for art; and the most careful imitations neither deceive
nor produce the smallest degree of terror.

7. Artificial rivers, also, should never be more than 50 or 80
feet wide; and Jakes formed by art should never contain more
than 20 or 30 acres. Neither of these objects would appear too

Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 413

small, because it is well known that they both appear larger
from optical deception.

8. No lake ought to be formed that does not contain 18 acres ;
otherwise it should be a pond, which does not require so great
an extent of surface. Rippling brooks winding through forests
and groves, sometimes approaching the road, and sometimes
retiring in still darkness; brooks that suddenly rush out from
among rocks, and then peacefully and quietly glide along till
they are gratefully received in the beautiful valleys, where
they are confined by banks, which are ornamented with an in-
finitely rich variety of flowers, thereby rendering the water almost
invisible; brooks trickling over rocks, which supply lakes or
ponds; and others which, without a gushing sound, flow in solemn
silence under over-hanging shrubs, and invite for fishing,
rowing, or bathing, are suitable for imitation as welcome ob-
jects in a garden, giving to it life and activity. Natural
springs, too, should have their place in a garden under beau-
tiful masses of rocks ; or they should have an urn, an inscription
to love or friendship, or a weeping willow, as all these objects
invite to a peculiar kind of repose.

9. Woods, sacred groves, thickets, and flowering shrubs,
among which Flora and her children are seen to sport in unre-
strained freedom, and surprise the passenger by their agreeable
display of colours and delightful perfume; meadows and valleys,
with a turf covered with the richest display of flowers; gently
sloping hills, crowned, when they are small, with beautiful trees
and shrubs; all these, also, belong to the natural garden, and
admit of the possibility of imitation.

10. The garden should also contain rocks, however difficult
it may be so to arrange and group them as to make them appear
as if they had been placed there by nature. I shall hereafter
treat of rockwork, when I shall give, from my own experience,
instructions for the most natural manner of executing such an
undertaking.

11. Grottoes also, although among the most difficult objects of
nature to imitate, ought to be included in the garden, and ought
never to be excluded from it where there is an opportunity of erect-
ing them. There are several tolerably successful attempts of this
kind in England ; among which the grotto at Pains Hill, and that
at Stourhead near Salisbury, may be reckoned the best. The
latter partakes more of art than of nature; which has induced
me to believe that the idea and the form have been partially bor-
rowed from the Egerian fountain in Rome. ‘This grotto stands
on the banks of alake ; and the back part of it is against a perpen-
dicular rock, formed there by nature, and over which, in former
times, a celebrated medicinal water flowed. At the foot of this

414, Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening.

rock lies a sleeping nymph (probably Egeria), illuminated by a
faint light, which breaks in unseen. Near her are inscribed
these words, by Alexander Pope : —

“« Nymph of the grot, these springs I keep,
And to the murmur of these waters sleep.
Ah! spare my slumbers, gently tread the cave,
And drink in silence, or in silence lave.”

The grotto itself is in a quiet solitary shade; and a deep still-
ness surrounds the sleeping nymph, which the sensitive wanderer
never disturbs by any noise, but retreats from gently and not
without heartfelt sensations. A flight of steps lead from this
grotto to a height, at the top of which broad daylight bursts upon
the sight, and “the str anger is agreeably surprised by the aspect
of a lake and an enchanting landscape. ‘To accomplish such
natural wonders, among a hidh the grotto should certainly be
reckoned, and particularly when it is to be on a small scale, the
aid of a very experienced landscape-gardener is certainly neces-
sary, and he must be one who has often beheld ‘similar works in
nature, and paid great attention to her laws.

Among the most remarkable natural grottoes and caves, the
following may be particularly mentioned :

Fingal’s Cave in Scotland, Okey Cave in England, the cave at
Castleton, St. George’s Cave in Gibraltar, Baumann’s Cave in
the Harz, Rosenmiuller’s Cave in Mainkreise in Bavaria, the
Beatus Cave in Switzerland, the Grotto of Antiparos in the
Levant, and the Grotto of Pausilippo in Italy, together with the
Grotto del Cane, the vapour of which (carbonic acid gas) is
dangerous to dogs; and to these rare productions of nature,
the so-called Rock Theatre at Hellebrunn in Salzburg should
be added.

The interior of the natural grotto; is distinguished from the
cave in a rock by its having generally a variety “of er ystallisations
and petrifactions, stellawiies or basalt-like pillars, such as those
in Fingal’s Cave: and in these grottoes the most wonderful ap-
pearances are seen, such as long protuberances hanging from the
roof, with innumerable prisms, Sand surrounded by sae flat
surfaces, like looking-glasses, which reflect the most astonishing
appearance of light, “occasioned by the infinity of reflected rays ;
and these pillar-like appendages often reach the floor, and give
an appearance as if they supported the roof. The mind fancies
such grottoes the abode of nymphs in fairyland.

12. There are also other kinds of grottoes which formerly
ornamented the geometric garden, and these were sometimes
in buildings, in niches, or by the sides of fountains; but these
grottoes were always grotesque, and never had a natural ex-
pression.

Visit to Hampton Court, Herefordshire. 415

Such fantastic forms of architecture, with the varied mixture of
the animal, plant, and mineral kingdom, which decorated their
walls, evinced but little taste and imagination; but we must not
reckon these absurd grottoes and shellworks here spoken of,
with the works in mosaic, as they are far inferior to the latter,
and, therefore, ought not to find a place in the modern style of
of gardening.

( To be continued. )

Art. 1V. Notice of a Visit to Hampton Court, in Herefordshire.
By J. B. W.

Four or five miles south of Leominster, near the village of
Hope-under-Dinmore, stands Hampton Court, formerly the
principal residence of the Coningsby family, but now the pro-
perty of J. Arkwright, Esq. Shortly after that gentleman
purchased the estate, the fine old baronial house was in a great
measure pulled down, and a magnificent building is now springing
up on its site. Unfortunately, however, both for its appearance
as a building, and its salubrity as a residence, the situation is
low and damp; the river Luge, which flows past the front,
rising in high floods to within a few yards of the house; and
this selection is the more to be regretted, because there is said
to be an excellent site about half a mile further north, on a high
brow, which, besides its superior healthfulness, commands a
much wider prospect, the view from the present mansion being
confined to one direction by Dinmore Hill, which runs parallel
to the front. Jt has been considered advisable to retain the
north front of the old building, through which a lofty archway
leads to a court-yard, where there is a private entrance. ‘The
principal entrance is under the archway, from which corridors
conduct the visitor to the living-rooms.

Allthe stone used in the building is raised on the estate, and con-
veyed on a tram-road to the river side, where Mr. Arkwright has
erected extensive saw-mills, and all other mechanical apparatus
necessary for converting the stone, wood, and even iron, required
in the building, to its proper uses. This apparatus is most in-
geniously contrived; and, although very costly in its first con-
struction, it has saved an immensity of labour.

The present gardens do not at all correspond in extent with
the mansion; but, probably, when the latter is completed, the
whole of the grounds will be remodeled in a style worthy of the
building. The soil of the kitchen-garden is-very good, and,
although low and near the river, it is comparatively dry, owing
to the subsoil being gravel. ‘There are two vineries, one of
which is heated by hot water in a copper apparatus. Most of
the walks are formed of flagstones, which, where available, cannot

1841. — VIII. 3d Ser. EE

416 Propagation of Dahlias.

be too strongly recommended, as being much inferior to gravel, or
indeed any other material: such walks are always clean, always
firm, and, if properly formed, always dry; and, once made, they
will last as long as the garden. ‘The walk that leads from the
kitchen to the flower-garden crosses a plot of nursery-ground,
beneath an arch of green-gage plum trees, which produce a large
quantity of good fruit.

The pleasure-ground is small, and is also rather encumbered
with trees, some of which, as the fern-leaved and copper-leaved
beeches, cypress, and one cedar of Lebanon, are fine specimens.
There are two conservatories in the grounds: one a tawdry
specimen on the old plan of upright front lights and opaque
roof; the other.a large lean-to house, which is about to be taken
down, and a new one erected, connected with the new house.

The flower-garden chiefly consists of a group of variously
formed beds, surrounding a fountain and a sort of stone grotto.
As a proof that some evergreens might be safely transplanted
during the season of growth, I may mention that two very large
trees of Magnolze grandiflora, which formerly grew against the
old mansion, were successfully removed in the month of June;
they have since been transplanted a second time, and are still
likely to live. — Jan. 20. 1841.

ArT. V. On the Propagation of Dahlias. By R. LyMBuRN.

Mucu has been said against nurserymen for their too great
avidity in propagating dahlias, and perhaps we may be al-
lowed to say a few words in our own exculpation. It was at
first roundly asserted that the roots produced from cuttings
would not push next year, and that nurserymen who sold these
roots were only deceiving their customers. When it was shown
that roots from cuttings did grow, it was next asserted that no
cutting roots would spring, unless the cuttings were pulled out
by the sockets; and next, that, unless the shoot were pared off
quite close to the buds, so as to let them be included in the
crown of the root, it would not spring next year. To this it was
answered, that, though the shoot were pared quite close to the
buds, it would elongate in the act of growing, and the buds
would still generally bear the stem; that more than these buds
were shown in the root, and often far down in the tubers; and
that, consequently and more especially, the buds were formed
in the root at the time of ripening, as even old roots on rich
land, and not well ripened, did not produce buds. ‘That the
vital power residing in the latex, or blood of the plant, is suffi-
cient to form buds, no one can doubt who has observed the
matter extravasated at times from the stems of geraniums,
dahlias, &c., and the stumps of old trees. At first it is only a

i> geen tS

Propagation of Dahlias. 417

mass of cellular matter, but gradually begins to thicken at the
surface, and get of a red and green colour, vessels are seen to be
produced and buds organised, which, if placed in favourable
circumstances, will evolve into shoots. I have seen the buds
literally crowded together like bees in a hive. Dr. Carpenter
says that the blood of animals, even when altogether separated
and spread out, has been seen to organise vessels, from the
strength of the vital principle. We have heard little of these
objections lately: but now it has been brought forward in a dif-
ferent shape, and it is asserted, that, in roots from which many cut-
tings have been taken, the later cuttings will not produce such good
flowers; a sort of inexplicable debility has taken place, and though
a person has got a strong-growing plant, it is not to be depended
on unless he can tell whether it is the first or the hundredth cut-
ting that has been taken off; as if a person ordinarily skilled in
plants could not tell a healthy-growing plant when he saw it. It
is true that the first cuttings taken off have taken away so much of
the starch deposited in the tuber, but the quantity is small. What is
the weight of all the cuttings taken off in comparison with the root?
The decomposition of the starch is still going on, and new food
being produced, and the fibres which the new shoots send out are
collecting more. Should it even happen that the last cuttings
are weaker, it will be perceived; and, when the active young
roots are produced on the weakest cutting, how often have we
seen a very diminutive plant, from being in more favourable cir-
cumstances, set away with vigour, and soon become a stronger
plant than the others. In fact, I have generally found, in my
experience, that the very strong shoots are the worst of all to
root. As a proof, we have often sold to our customers cuttings
taken from the rooted cuttings we got down, which flowered
sooner and better than our own plants. I recollect this par-
ticularly in the case of Brewer’s Rival King, to Mr. Tillery at
Fullarton House, now at Welbeck; and to Mr. Buchannan, at
Caprington, now in America. The quantity or quality of
flowers does not altogether depend on the strength of the plant:
the quantity will be increased rather by stunting a very luxuriant
plant, and the quality, although depending on luxuriance, does
also depend on the former state of the plant; if it has been
rather in a starved state when the flower buds are formed, and
if plentiful rains occur and heat, or if manure or water be
given copiously thereafter, a closer and better flower may be
had than if it had always grown luxuriantly. It is a pity poor
nurserymen have to come in for the blame, when it is, perhaps,
only the state of the weather. Every buyer should let his eyes be
judge of the plant, without enquiring whether it is from the first
_ or twentieth dozen of cuttings that has been taken off the root.
Kilmarnock, June 14. 1841,

EE 2

418 Britton’s Illustrations of Toddington.

REVIEWS.

Art. I. Graphic Illustrations, with Historical and Descriptive Ac-
counts, of Toddington, Gloucestershire, the Seat of Lord Sudeley.
By John Britton, F.S.A., Honorary Member of the Royal Institute
of British Architects, and of several other English and Foreign

Societies; Author of “The Cathedral and Architectural Antiqui-

ties,’ &c. 4to, pp. 46, 29 plates and 3 woodcuts. London,

1841.
(Continued from p. 369.)

Cuap. 11. contains remarks on the scenery and features of a country with
reference to domestic architecture and landscape-gardening, and on the old
house and garden at Toddington. We quote the greater part of the chapter.

“ The natural forms and features of every tract of country in which a gen-
tleman’s seat is placed are positive and permanent. They are either moun-
tainous, as in Scotland and Wales; bold, or slightly undulating with, hill and
dale, as at Toddington; level, or nearly so, as in Middlesex and parts of
Essex; abounding with woods and enclosures, as parts of Kent; bare and
open, as the plains of Salisbury and Marlborough; or wild, uncultivated, and
abounding with heath, furze, and brush-wood, as parts of Surrey and Sussex.
Each of these districts exhibits its own exclusive and peculiar characteristic
features and expression; and it should be the study of its manorial lord to
adapt the style and external forms of his mansion to harmonise with, and
make part of, the local scene. Common sense and good taste will dictate this ;
but we occasionally see glaring incongruities in the adaptation of buildings
to their respective localities, as well as violations of all the principles of
common sense and taste. Art may adorn and improve all places, either by
taking away old woods, or by adding new plantations; by enlarging and
varying the boundaries of waters; by forming and planting the courses of
roads, and by other means which the skilful landscape-gardener has at his
command. He is, however, rarely consulted in the selection of a site for a
house, or, indeed, till the proprietor has committed many errors in laying out
roads, plantations, water, &c.

“The castles and the monastic buildings of the middle age constitute the
principal, if not the only, specimens of ancient domestic architecture in
England. These are numerous, and of various dates, and are contra-dis-
tinguished from each other by several dissimilarities in general design, in plan,
and in subordinate parts. Destined, however, as each was, for its respective
inhabitants ; adapted as each was to the peculiar customs and manners of its
warlike or religious occupants, they had but little analogy to each otlier, and
were ill-suited to the domestic habits of a refined and luxurious community.
Hence, both the castle and the monastery have been deserted, and are now
only to be seen in ruin, whilst the emancipated lords of the soil have erected
for themselves new mansions on their respective estates ; and we find that
these have commonly been designed in accordance with a particular and
prevalent fashion. During the reigns of the later Henries, the monastic ar-
chitects were employed to erect a few mansions and castles, which still
remain to characterise their age and origin. Under Elizabeth, James, and the
Charleses, a successive variety was introduced in the styles and features of
domestic architecture ; but each dynasty is distinguished by its own and de-
cided class. In our own times architecture seems emancipated from the
trammels of fashion, and all the formula of schools, whilst architects and
their employers give full /atitude to fancy and imagination. Hence we have
imitations of Egyptian, Indian, Chinese, Grecian, Roman, and Gothic, with
designs that aim at originality by a departure from all precedent, or by
blending a heterogeneous mixture of two or more of the ancient styles. If

Britton’s Illustrations of Toddington. 419

-amidst this medley and this diversity the English architects fail to produce
any thing to mark either the particular age in which they live, or the nation
to which they belong, we cannot fail to recognise a principle and sentiment
characteristic of personal liberty and of the freedom of the government. As
every Englishman’s home is his castle, he assumes unlimited freedom of
action in making it either large or small, highly decorated or plain, of stone,
brick, timber, or marble, as may best please his fancy and his station in life.

“The late Mr. Repton, of Hare Street, Essex, was employed during the
greater part of an active life, by several English noblemen and gentlemen, to
give designs for, or ‘lay-out,’ the grounds in the vicinity of their respective
houses. In prosecuting this very pleasing, indeed fascinating, profession (for
Mr. R. had studied and practised it in a professional capacity ), he visited most
parts of the kingdom, and was engaged to survey and report on some of its
finest parks, as well as many subordinate villas. His practice was, to examine
the natural and artificial features of a place with its mansion, and to prepare
a series of small, but smartly-touched, drawings, showing certain scenes and
parts, which he deemed bad or susceptible of improvement on a slip of paper,
and to represent his suggested improvement by drawing the same on the paper
beneath the said slips. He accompanied these drawings with an essay on the
scenic characteristics of the seat ; eulogising its grand, fine, picturesque, and
beautiful portions, and describing or pointing out such parts as tended to
deteriorate the better features of the domain. These drawings and the manu-
scripts were bound in red morocco, and known as Mr, Repton’s Red Books.
In a published volume entitled Sketches and Hints on Landscape-Gardening,
4to, 1795, the author laid before the public the most essential portions of fifty-
seven of these red books. ‘to establish fixed principles in the art of laying
out ground.’ The whole of this volume is republished by Mr. Loudon in his
interesting edition of Mr. Repton’s works, with a memoir of the author, and
some valuable notes by the editor.

“The mansion which preceded the present at Toddington was seated in
the lowest part of the grounds, adjoining a river, which meanders through the
valley, and, like the generality of country seats built at the end of the six-
teenth century, it was placed in juxta-position with the parish church. It
was partly bounded by walls, some of which were lofty, and its gardens,
which nearly surrounded the house, were laid out with geometric regularity
and formality. Gravel walks, and green walks, terraces, fish-ponds, and
fountains ; clipt hedges and clipt trees ; shrubs, with vases and leaden figures,
gave to the whole scene a most formal, artificial, and frigid air and aspect.
Pope endeavoured to mark this fashion in one of his terse and expressive
couplets :—

“‘ Grove nods at grove, each alley has its brother,
And half the platform just reflects the other.”

‘But the writings of the poet and the critic cannot convey an adequate
idea of this species of country-house and its flower-garden; and I do not
believe that there is a genuine specimen remaining in Great Britain. To the
topographical draughtsmen and engravers we are obliged and indebted for
conveying to our times and to our eyes representations of such gardens with
their respective buildings. Burghers, Hollar, Knyff, Badeslade, and the
Kips, have left us views of many of them, which are valuable evidences of the
prevalent taste, as well as of the manners, of our ancestors. Toddington,
amongst these representations, shows the house to be large, bounding three
sides of a quadrangular court, and having the fourth side flanked by an em-
battled wall and a porter’s lodge. The church, stables, coach-houses, farm-
buildings, and barkens, brew-house, bake-house, and a mill, appear to have
constituted parts or appendages of the mansion.”

Chap. 111. contains a description of the new house at Toddington ; and
Chap. tv. an account of the manor, parish church, Hailes Abbey, and various

EE 3

4.20 Britton’s Illustrations of Toddington.

other objects connected with the property ; and at the end there is the pedi-
gree of the family of Tracy.

We give entire the author’s concluding address, and again most strongly
recommend his work to every country gentleman and amateur.

“TI cannot close the present Volume without adverting to circumstances
connected with it, which may be said to form part of its annals, and may
therefore be regarded as essential items in its composition. After many years
devotion to the history and illustration of the Architectural and Cathedral
Antiquities of England (both intimately associated with the history and
fine arts of the country), I was naturally tempted to study and examine those
modern buildings which professed to imitate, or dared to compete with,
edifices which range under those titles. I had published a volume on the
noted mansion of Fonthill, and had illustrated and criticised other houses of a
similar class in different publications. The fame of Toddington impelled me to
seek an opportunity of viewing its architecture, for it was said to possess much
originality of design, with elaborate details, and many peculiarities. This
wish was readily gratified by its noble proprietor and architect. For the
last four or five years I have occasionally seen it, both in progress and since
its completion, and have also had frequent conferences with the noble lord,
who has devoted more than twenty years to the pleasing, but anxious, task
of directing the whole of the works. To that respected nobleman I now
tender grateful thanks for many acts of courtesy and polite attention, and
also for the engravings which accompany this volume, which gave it origin,
and may be considered to constitute its most attractive portion.

“To Lord Sudeley the public is under obligations which will never be fully
known or appreciated. As one of the committee to select from the competing
designs for the new Houses of Parliament, his Lordship not only devoted
much time and zealous attention, but manifested an intimate knowledge of the
science and art of architecture. Whatever differences of opinion prevailed
amongst professional architects and legislative critics, on that conflicting oc-
casion, it may be safely predicted, that the designs by Mr. Barry, unanimously
fixed on by the Committee, will hereafter be equally an honour to the architect,
to England, and to the three distinguished gentlemen who, after choosing the
anonymous design, rendered many useful, if not important, hints to the artist.
I cannot indulge the hope of living to see that magnificent edifice fully exe-
cuted ; but I venture to prognosticate that it will hereafter become a subject
of national exultation and pride, and also mark an important epoch in the
architectural annals of our beloved and illustrious country.

“The present volume has been long in progress, and frequently announced
for speedy publication. Repeated attacks of illness have occasioned me to
put it aside in different stages of composition. At times of convalescence and
health other and more pressing demands engrossed nearly all my time and
solicitude, and compelled me to postpone the completion of the work. It is
at length submitted to that critical ordeal which I have frequently encountered
on preceding publications, and which has very generally been indulgent and
flattering. In three instances, however, and by three hostile parties, my
eritics have indulged in envious and malevolent strictures. Knowing those
parties, and pitying their constitutional infirmities, which must entangle their
road of life with thorns and nettles, I bequeath to them a sincere wish that
they may live to know better, and to act more kindly ; that they may correct,
or endeavour to correct, their own bad and perverse tempers ; and, in wielding
the pen of criticism, that they treat other authors with a justice and generosity
which they themselves have a right to expect from public critics.

“ Incidentally becoming connected for the last five years with an unfor-
tunate railway company, I was gradually involved in the loss of much time,
and also in nearly the whole savings arising from fifty years of literary labour.
These are my painful pleas for delay, and also for those imperfections of
authorship which the acute critic may too easily detect, but which it is hoped
he will generously be disposed to pardon.” (p. 46.)

Downing’s Landscape-Gardening. 421

Art. Hl. A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape-
Gardening, adapted to North America ; with a View to the Improve-
ment of Country Residences: comprising Historical Notices and
General Principles of the Art, Directions for laying out Grounds
and arranging Plantations, the Description and Cultivation of
Hardy Trees, Decorative Accompaniments to the House and
Grounds, the Formation of Pieces of Artificial Water, Flower-
Gardens, §c. With Remarks on Rural Architecture. By A. J.
Downing. 8vo, pp. 451, plates, and numerous woodcuts. New
York and London, 1841.

A TasTE for rural improvements, Mr. Downing observes, is advancing with
great rapidity in America; but, though immense sums are employed, profes-
sional talent is seldom required. Every man fancies himself an amateur, and
endeavours to plan and arrange his own residence ; and the results are, as might
be expected, much incongruity, and great waste of time and money. The
object of Mr. Downing’s volume is to teach amateurs how to proceed in such a
manner as, with comparative ease, to produce delightful and satisfactory results.
After giving a short historical sketch of the progress of landscape-gardening
among mankind generally, and pointing out the superiority of a taste for this
art over that of a taste for pictures, he proceeds to show (in p. 19.) the pro-
gress of the art in the United States. |

“The number of individuals who possess in America,” he says, “ wealth and
refinement sufficient to enable them to enjoy the pleasures of a country life,
and who desire in their private residences so much of the beauties of landscape-
gardening as may be realised without any enormous expenditure of means, is
daily increasing ; and, in halfa century more, there will exist a greater number
of beautiful villas in the Atlantic States than in any other country in Europe,
England alone excepted.”

The only American work on landscape-gardening is the American Gardeners?
Calendar, by Bernard M‘Mahon of Philadelphia; and the only practitioner of
the art, of any note, was the late M. Parmentier of Brooklyn, Long Island.

““M. André Parmentier was the brother of the celebrated horticulturist,
the Chevalier Parmentier, Mayor of Enghien, Holland. He emigrated to
this country about the year 1824:; and, in the horticultural nurseries which he
established at Brooklyn, he gave a specimen of the natural style of laying out
grounds, combined with a scientific arrangement of plants, which excited
public curiesity, and contributed not a little to the dissemination of a taste
for the natural mode of landscape-gardening.

“ Daring M. Parmentier’s residence on Long Island, he was almost con-
stantly applied to for plans for laying out the grounds of country seats, by
persons in various parts of the union, as well as in the immediate proximity
of New York. In many cases he not only surveyed the demesne to be im-
proved, but furnished the plants and trees necessary to carry out his plans.
Several plans were prepared by him for residences of note in the southern
states ; and two or three places in Upper Canada, especially near Montreal,
were, we believe, laid out by his own hands, and stocked from his nursery
grounds. In his periodical catalogue, he arranged the hardy trees and shrubs
that flourish in this latitude in classes, according to their height, &c., and
published a short treatise on the superior claims of the natural over the
formal or geometric style of laying out grounds. In short, we consider
M. Parmentier’s labours and example as having effected, directly, far more for
landscape-gardening in America, than those of any other individual whatever.

“ To the novice in landscape-gardening and rural embellishment, nothing is
more instructive than a personal inspection of country seats, where the grounds
are laid out in a tasteful manner. In examining such, the mind is, at a single
view, more fully impressed with the beauties of the art and its capabilities,

EE 4

422 Downing’s Landscape-Gardening,

a
than by ten times the amount of time spent in investigating the theory without
any such practical illustrations. And although we have but few such as
might be termed ‘show places,’ yet we shall venture to refer the reader to
several examples which have considerable reputation among us as elegant
country residences.

“« Hyde Park, on the Hudson, the seat of the late Dr. Hosack, has been
justly celebrated as one of the finest specimens of the modern style of land-
scape-gardening in America. Nature has, indeed, done much for this place,
as the grounds are finely varied, beautifully watered by a lively stream, and
the views from the neighbourhood of the house itself, cluding as they do the
noble Hudson, and the superb wooded valley which stretches away until
bounded at the horizon by the distant summits of the blue Cattskills, are un-
rivalled in picturesque beauty. But the efforts of art are not unworthy so
rare a locality ; and while the native woods and beautifully undulating grounds
are preserved in their original state, the pleasure-grounds, roads, walks,
drives, and new plantations, have been laid out in so tasteful a manner as to
heighten the charms of nature. Large and costly hot-houses were erected,
and elegant entrance-lodges at two points on the estate, a fine bridge over
the stream, and numerous pavilions and seats commanding extensive prospects ;
in short, nothing was spared to render this seat one of the very finest in
America, The park, which at one time contained some fine deer, afforded a
delightful drive within itself, as the whole estate numbered about seven
hundred acres. The plans for laying out the grounds were furnished by
Parmentier, and architects from New York were employed in designing and
erecting the buildings. Since the death of Dr. Hosack, the place has lost
something of the high keeping which it formerly evinced, but we still consider
it one of the most instructive seats in this country.

“ Blithewood, the seat of R. Donaldson, Esq., near Barrytown, on the Hudson
River, is one of the most tasteful villa residences in the union. The lawn, or
park, which commands a view of surpassing beauty, is studded with groups of
fine forest trees, beneath which are delightful walks, leading in easy curves to
rustic seats, summer-houses, &c., disposed in secluded spots, or to openings
affording the most lovely prospects. In various situations near the house
and upon the lawn, Maltese vases, exquisitely sculptured in stone, are dis-
posed in such a manner as to give a classic air to the grounds. The entrance-
lodge, built in the English cottage style, is exceedingly neat and appropriate,
and the whole place may be considered quite a model of elegant arrangement ;
such, indeed, as may fairly come withm the reach of numbers of our wealthy
proprietors, did they possess the ¢asfe, as well as the means, for this species of
refined enjoyment.

“ There are one or two old and celebrated country residences on the Hudson,
in the possession of the Livingston family, in the neighbourhood of Barrytown.
The magnificent single trees, groups, masses, and rolling woods, which seem
as if tastefully disposed in the modern style over an extensive undulating park,
covered with the finest turf, give these seats very much the air of an old
European residence ; which, perhaps, they resemble, more than any mansion
residences that we have in the United States. These places owe almost their
entire beauty to nature, as nearly all the fine trees, groves, and woods are the
natural growth of the soil ; such as, indeed, once covered many of our fine river
valleys, but which have fallen a prey to the licentious axe of the woodman in
so many thousand instances. Here, just so much of the natural growth of
timber has been retained, as to clothe the estate with a truly noble garniture ;
and the proportions of meadow, or lawn, and wood, as well as the arrangement
and situation of the latter, have been so judiciously managed, that, as we have
before mentioned, much of the effect of the finest park, carefully laid out and
planted in the modern style of landscape-gardening is produced, mainly by
retaining and preserving the materials of which nature has been here so ex-
tremely prodigal.

“<The gardens and grounds of Lemon Hill, once the residenceof H. Pratt,

adapted to North America. 423

Esq., near Philadelphia, are familiar examples to many of our readers, of the
geometric style. These gardens, when in their perfection, some ten years ago,
were filled with a collection of the rarest and most costly exotics, as well as a
great variety of fine native trees and shrubs, which, interspersed with statues
and busts, ponds, jets d’eau, and waterworks of various descriptions, produced
certainly a very brilliant, though decidedly artificial effect. An extensive
range of hot-houses, curious grottoes and spring-houses, as well as every
other gardenesque structure, gave variety and interest to this celebrated spot,
which we regret the rapidly extending growth, and the mania for improvement
there, as in some of our other cities, has now nearly destroyed and obliterated.

“The garden of the Van Rensselaer Manor, near Albany, may be given as
another specimen, on a large scale, of the geometric mode of gardening.

“In the suburbs of Boston, a far greater number of elegant country seats of
moderate extent are to be found, than in any other equally small neighbour-
hood in the union. Many of these are, no doubt, familiar to our readers.
Among the most celebrated are those of J. P. Cushing, Esq., at Watertown,
the Hon. John Lowell at Roxbury, and Col. Perkins at Brookline. These,
with many other beautiful villa residences of less extent, are remarkable for
elegant arrangement, and for the high keeping of the grounds, as well as the
perfection to which the art of gardening is carried within the precincts.* In
short, we consider these places as fine models of a species of country resi-
dence which will, undoubtedly, become the most popular in this country.
While the extent of ground embraced in these country seats is rarely greater
than is easily obtained every where, in situations most desirable in the coun-
try, it includes every thing which can render a country seat delightful: beau-
titul pleasure-grounds, large enough to admit of a park-like character, varied
with trees in irregular groups, smooth lawns, and firm gravel roads, and walks ;
flower and kitchen gardens, well stocked with floral beauties, and the most
excellent culinary productions ; and hot-houses and forcing-houses, filled
with all that can minister to the eye or the palate. In short, this class of
residences, while it comes within the reach of such moderate fortunes as are
not very rare in a republic, yields to the possessor all that is really gratifying
or delightful in the overgrown estates of a titled aristocracy.

“ There are several other country residences, which have been quite cele-

* “We Americans are proverbially impatient of delay, and a few years in
prospect appears an endless futurity. So much is this the feeling with many,
that we verily believe there are hundreds of our country places, which owe
their bareness and destitution of foliage to the idea, so common, that it re-
quires ‘ an age’ for forest trees to ‘ grow up.’

“The middle-aged man hesitates about the good of planting what he imagines
he shall never see arriving at maturity; and even many who are younger
conceive that it requires more than an ordinary lifetime to rear a fine wood of
planted trees. About two years since, we had the pleasure of visiting the seat
of the late Mr. Lowell, whom we found in a green old age, still enjoying, with
the enthusiasm of youth, the pleasures of horticulture and a country life. For
the information of those who are ever complaining of the tardy pace with which
the growth of trees advances, we will here record that we accompanied Mr. L.
through a belt of fine woods (skirting part of his residence), near half a mile in
length, consisting of almost all our finer hardy trees, many of them apparently
full grown, the whole of which had been planted by him when he was thirty-
two years old. At that time a solitary elm or two were almost the only trees
upon his estate. We can hardly conceive a more rational source of pride or
enjoyment, than to be able thus to walk in the decline of years beneath the
shadow of umbrageous woods and groves planted by our own hands, and
whose growth has become almost identified with our own progress and exist .
ence.

424 Downing’s Landscape-Gardening,

brated as specimens of landscape-gardening, and we regret that the limits of a
single volume will not permit us to refer to them in detail. Waltham House,
about nine miles from Boston, the seat of Theodore Lyman, Esq., has an ex-
tensive park, and fine grounds. The seat of Mr. Wadsworth, in the beautiful
Genesee Valley, is remarkable for the tasteful design exhibited in the house
and grounds. Monte Video, the residence of Daniel Wordsworth, Esq., is
one of the prettiest residences in Connecticut. The grounds of the Count de
Survilliers, at Bordentown, N. J., are remarkable for their extent ; and
although the surface is extremely flat, it has been well varied by extensive
plantations.

“Of smaller villa residences, suburban chiefly, there are great numbers
springing up, almost by magic, in the borders of our towns and cities.
Though the possessors of these can scarcely hope to introduce anything ap-
proaching to a landscape-garden style, in laying out their limited grounds,
still they may be greatly benefited by an acquaintance with the beauties and
the pleasures of this species of rural embellishment. When we are once
master of the principles, and aware of the capabilities, of an art, we are able
to infuse an expression of tasteful design, or an air of more correct elegance,
even into the most humble works, or with the most limited means.

“While we shall endeavour, in the following pages, to give such a view of
modern landscape-gardening, as will enable the improver to proceed with his
fascinating operations in embellishing the country residence, in a practical
mode, based upon what are now generally received as the correct principles
of the art, we would desire the novice, after making himself acquainted with
all that can be acquired from written works within his reach, to strengthen
his taste and add to his knowledge, by a practical inspection of the best
country seats among us. In an infant state of society, in regard to the fine
arts, much will be done in violation of good taste; but here, where nature has
done so much for us, there is scarcely a large country residence in the union,
from which useful hints in landscape-gardening may not be taken. A natural
group of trees, an accidental pond of water, or some equally simple object,
may form a study more convincing to the mind of a true admirer of natural
beauty, than the most carefully drawn plan, or the most elaborately written
description.”

The second section of this work treats of the beauties of landscape-garden-
ing.

“The earliest professors of modern landscape-gardening have generally
agreed upon two species of beauty, of which the art is capable — variations
no less certainly distinct on the one hand than they are capable of intermin-
gling and combining on the other. These are general, or natural, and picturesque
beauty ; or, to speak more definitely, the beauty characterised by simple and
flowing forms, and the beauty expressed by striking, irregular, spirited forms.

“The admirer of nature, as well as the lover of pictures and engravings,
will at once recall to mind examples of scenes distinctly expressive of each of
these kinds of beauty. In nature, perhaps, some gently undulating plain
covered with emerald turf, partially or entirely encompassed by rich rolling
outlines of forest canopy, its widest expanse here broken occasionally by noble
groups of round-headed trees, or there interspersed with single specimens,
whose elegant trunks support masses of foliage flowing in outline, or grace-
fully drooping to the very turf beneath them. In such a scene, we behold
the azure of heaven, and its silvery clouds, as well as the deep verdure of the
luxuriant and shadowy branches, reflected in the placid bosom of a sylvan
lake ; the shores of the latter jutting out, and receding back, in gently curved
lines ; the banks, sometimes covered with soft verdure and enamelled with
flowers, and in other portions clothed with luxuriant masses of verdant shrubs.
Here are all the elements of what is termed natural beauty, — or a landscape
characterised by natural, easy, and flowing lines.

“For an example of the opposite character, let us take a stroll to the
nearest woody glen in your neighbourhood: perhaps a romantic valley, half

Cer

adapted to North America. 425

shut in on two or more sides by steep rocky banks, partially concealed and
overhung by clustering vines and tangled thickets of deep foliage. Against
the sky outline, breaks the wild and irregular form of some old half-decayed
tree near by, or the horizontal and unique branches of the larch or the pine,
with their strongly marked forms. Rough and irregular stems and trunks,
rocks half-coyered with mosses and flowering plants, open glades of bright
verdure opposed to dark masses of shadowy foliage, form prominent objects
in the foreground. If water enliven the scene, we shall hear the murmur of
the noisy brook, or the cool dashing of the cascade, as it leaps over the rocky
barrier. Let the stream turn the ancient and well-worn wheel of the old
mill in the middle ground, and we shall have an illustration of picturesque
beauty, not the less striking from its familiarity to every one.

“To the lover of the fine arts, the name of Claude Lorraine cannot fail to
suggest examples of beauty in its purest and most elegant forms. In the
inimitable landscapes which are the works of this great master, we see por-
trayed all those graceful and flowing forms, and all that harmonious colouring,
which delight so much the mind of genuine taste and sensibility, and which,
based upon a study of beautiful nature and art, in the finest portion of the
globe, have never since, and may, perhaps, never again, be equalled.

“On the other hand, where shall we find all the elements of the picturesque
more graphically combined than in the vigorous landscapes of Salvator Rosa.
In those rugged scenes, even the lawless aspects of his favourite robbers and
banditti are not more spirited than the bold rocks and wild passes by which
they are surrounded. And in the productions of his pencil, we see the in-
fluence of a romantic and vigorous imagination, nursed amid scenes teeming
with the grand as well as the picturesque — both of which he embodied in the
most striking manner.

“In giving these illustrations of general, or natural, and of picturesque
beauty, we have not intended them to be understood in the light of exact
models for imitation in landscape-gardening — only as striking examples of
expression in natural scenery. Although in nature many landscapes partake
in a certain degree of both these kinds of beauty, yet it is no doubt true that
the effect is more satisfactory where either the one or the other character
predominates. The accomplished amateur should be able to seize at once
upon the characteristics of these two species of beauty in all scenery. To
assist the reader in this kind of discrimination, we shall keep these expres-
sions constantly in view, and we hope we shall be able fully to illustrate the
difference in the expression of even single trees, in this respect. A few
strongly marked objects, either picturesque or simply beautiful, will often
confer their character upon a whole landscape, as the destruction of a single
group of bold rocks covered with wood may render a scene, once picturesque,
completely insipid.

“A question that may not be unlikely to occur to the novice in these
matters is, which is the superior character of landscape, considered in refer-
ence to the art now before us? To answer this question directly, would be
to side with one or the other of the two schools or parties in landscape-gar-
dening, which waged battle so fiercely in England during the last century, —
viz. the Picturesque School, at the head of which were Price and Knight,
and the more formal school, whose champions were Brown and Repton ; the
former desiring to see all country residences highly picturesque, and the latter,
perhaps, verging too much into the rules of an unvarying art. P

“ There can, however, be little doubt that it is requisite to possess a greater
degree of imagination, and perhaps more of that vigour of mind termed genius,
fully to appreciate the beauty of the more picturesque forms of nature. Even
among artists, while there are many who are able to feel and portray nature
in her ordinary developements, how few can make the canvass glow with the
expression of her grander and more picturesque beauties! And a@nong mere
admirers, it is the multitude that see and feel the power of beauty in her
graceful and flowing forms ; but only the imaginative and cultivated few, who

4.26 Downing’s Landscape-Gardening.

appreciate her more free and spirited charms. So, also, there are, perhaps, a
thousand who admire the elegant forms and the undulating outlines which pre-
dominate in the park or pleasure-grounds, as we generally see them, where
there is one who would prefer a cottage in a highly irregular and picturesque
valley, or a castle on a rocky crag ; though the latter may, to certain minds, be
a thousand times more enchanting.

“ After having familiarised ourselves with the leading expressions of beauty
in wild scenery, the question arises, In what manner is nature to be imitated
in landscape-gardening ? To produce an actual fac-simile of nature, in the
grounds of a country residence, appears to have been the sole idea of some of
the early writers on the natural style. These, tired of the formalities of
Geometric Gardening, almost ran into the opposite extreme, of rendering the
pleasure-grounds like a wild dingle, forgetting that the principles of imitation
common to the other fine arts are, to a certain extent, equally applicable to
this; and that, although fac-simile imitations of nature are really capable of
affording much rational pleasure, yet they have no claim to be considered as
the production of an imitative fine art. The pleasure they give rise to being
precisely that afforded by natural scenery.

* M. Quatremere de Quincy has defined the end of imitation to be, ‘ to
present to the senses and the mind, through the intervention of the fine arts, images
which, in all the different forms of imitation, shall furnish an aggregate of perfec-
tion and ideal beauty to which particular models afford no equal. * In this sen-
tence may be found the true nature of imitation in landscape-gardening, only
partially known and acted upon by its earlier professors.

“The most elevated kind of beauty in landscapes, of whatever description,
is undoubtedly that of expression; and the highest imitative effects of the
art, therefore, consist in arranging the materials, so as to create emotions of
grace, elegance, picturesqueness, or grandeur, joined with unity, harmony, and
variety, more distinct and more forcible than are suggested by natural scenery,
producing, by this means, intellectual gratification, separate and distinct from
that arising from the mere admiration of forms or materials employed.

“ The beau ideal in landscape-gardening, as a fine art, appears to us to be
embraced in the creation of scenery expressive of a peculiar kind of beauty,
as the elegant or picturesque, the materials of which are, to a certain extent,
different from those in wild nature, being composed of the floral and arbori-
cultural riches of all climates, as far as possible, — uniting in the same scene
a richness and a variety never to be found in any one portion of nature ;—
a scene characterised as a work of art, by the variety of the materials, as
foreign trees, plants, &c., and by the polish and keeping of the grounds, in the
natural style, as distinctly as by the uniform and symmetrical arrangement, in
the ancient style.

‘A fac-simile imitation of nature in gardening, that is, a scene like wild
nature, in which only wild trees, shrubs, and plants are employed, and which
is precisely like wild nature, produces pleasure only as it deceives us, and
appears to be nature itself. An artistical imitation affords pleasure to the
mind, not only by the expressions of natural beauty which we discover in it,
but by the more novel and choicer forms in which they are displayed, and by
the tasteful art apparent in the arrangement. The relative merits of the two
may be illustrated, by comparing the first to the counterfeit of the human
figure in wax, which, at a short distance, may be thought real, and the last, to
the painted landscape or the marble statue. The two latter are no less imita-
tions of nature than the former, but they are expressive and elegant imita-
tions only, which are never to be mistaken for the originals, as in the case of
the wax figure.-

* « Essay on Imitation in the Fine Arts, p. 150.
+ “‘ Thus, there is a beauty of nature and a beauty of art. To copy the
beauty of nature cannot be called being an artist, in the highest sense of the

General Notices. 427

* One of the chief elements of artistical imitation in landscape-gardening
being a difference in the materials employed in the imitation of nature from
those in nature herself, nothing can be more apparent than the necessity of
introducing largely exotic ornamental trees, shrubs, and plants, instead of
those of indigenous growth. Thus, to take the simplest example, if we sup-
pose a lawn of an acre, arranged with groups of trees, the groups composed
of lindens, horsechestnuts, and magnolias, where the native forests are only
filled with oak and ash trees, the variety of the foliage and blossoms alone will
at once suggest the recognition of art. Borders of rare flowers and climbing
plants, — gravel walks, in the place of common paths or roads, — smooth
turf, instead of wild meadow, — elegant vases and architectural ornaments,
with many other accessories, bespeaking the presence of a tasteful and en-
lightened mind; all these are the essential characteristics of landscape-garden-
ing, considered as an art of imitation.

“ Besides picturesque and beautiful imitations of nature, another mode has
recently arisen in England, which Mr. Loudon has very appropriately named
the gardenesque style. The style is evidently founded rather upon a culti-
vated taste for botany and horticulture, and a desire to exhibit every variety
of rare ornamental tree and plant, than upon any new element of design. As
its characteristic features are little known here, we shall place them before
the reader, as they have been delineated by Mr, Loudon.”

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

Art. I. General Notices.

INSECTS on Plants. — Mr. Knight of the King’s Road, Chelsea, an able
cultivator of all the rarest exotics, after trying various expedients for banish-
ing the red spider from his hothouses, thought of a plan which effectually
clears the plants from dust as well as insects. He makes a solution of glue
in warm water, in large tubs ; and, when sufficiently diluted by additions of
warm water, and while yet hot, the whole infested plant is plunged into the
liquid, and immediately returned to its place in the house. Thus a thin coat
of the solution remains on every part of the plant, encasing every insect in an
investment in which they can neither breathe, eat, nor move. The vestment
hardens as it cools; and, after a day or two, it cracks and peels off the plant,
bringing with it every insect which it involved. This dipping, it will be
observed, can only be performed on portable plants, or such as occupy pots
or boxes not heavier than what two men can carry in their arms. On large
specimens, as orange trees and the like, the solution must be thrown on with
a syringe, or applied with a soft brush. (Cambridge Chronicle and Journal,
May 1. 1841.)

word, as a mechanical talent only is requisite for this. The beautiful in art
depends on ideas, and the true artist, therefore, must possess, together with
the talent for technical execution, that genial power which revels freely in rich
forms, and is capable of producing and animating them. It is by this that the
merit of the artist and his production is to be judged; and these cannot be
properly estimated among those barren copyists which we find so many of
our flower, landscape, and portrait painters to be. But theartist stands much
higher in the scale, who, though a copyist of visible nature, is capable of seiz-
ing it with poetic feeling, and representing it in its more dignified sense : such,
for example, as Raphael, Poussin, Claude, &c.’ — Weinbrenner, as translated
in Loudon’s Architectural Magazine, vol, v. p. 397.”

4.28 Foreign Notices : — North America.

Art. II. Foreign Notices.

NORTH AMERICA.

PHILADELPHIA, May 19. 1841.—TI have the pleasure to acknowledge the
receipt of your interesting description of the Derby Arboretum. This gift of
Mr. Strutt is, indeed, a splendid one, and the inhabitants of Derby will ever
have reason to hold the munificent donor in grateful remembrance. I have
made a brief notice of it in the Journal of the Franklin Institute, a copy of
which I herewith send you.

You would probably be disappointed to receive a letter from an architect
on this side of “the water,” in these disastrous times, without some allusion
to the effect of the recent convulsions in money matters on architecture ;
allow me then to tell you briefly how the matter stands with us. The de-
rangement of the currency of the country, the depreciation in the value of
securities, resulting mainly from the suspension of public works before they
could be made productive by completion, and a thousand other ills consequent
on a general loss of confidence, have produced a panic throughout the land
which seems to have led every body to repudiate (for the present at least) all
ideas of luxury, and to confine their expenditures to the absolute necessaries
of life ; the consequence is, that architects have now but little to do, beyond
what the mere wéile dictates. Most of the public edifices which were begun
before the storm set in are, however, still advancing towards completion,
though in most instances their progress is much retarded by the narrow limits
to which appropriations are necessarily confined.

These troubles seem to have been felt more severely in Philadelphia than
any where else. The location of the unfortunate United States Bank among
us, and the implicit confidence our citizens had in that Institution, led so
many to invest their funds in it, that the shock is now felt, either directly or
indirectly, by every man in the community. The temporary embarrassment of
our state has also imposed an onerous weight on Philadelphia ; the focus of
the financial concerns of Pennsylvania is in fact in this city, notwithstanding
the seat of government is at Harrisburg, 100 miles west of us. Our state
debts amount now to about forty millions of dollars, and, in consequence of so
many of our public works being arrested in an unfinished state by the scarcity
of money, the proceeds that now arise from them fall short of the annual ex-
penditures about half a million of dollars, to say nothing of the interest. In
view of these circumstances you will not think it wonderful that so great a
change has come over the spirit of our dreams, and that the people have fallen
en masse into such a dreadful fit of economy. But these things are not to
last long. Pennsylvania will come out of the alembic of misfortune, refined
and purified. Already has she provided by direct taxation for an amount far
beyond her interest and other expenditures; the whole forty millions, prin-
cipal and interest, must and will be paid, every cent of it, and that too by the
people. Every one of our public works, extensive as they are, will assuredly
be finished, and that before a great while. Even the peaceful arts will soon
be found to make head once more against all adverse influences : they have
heretofore taken a strong, a lasting hold on the community; and minds
once trained toa perception of the chaste and beautiful, once imbued with a
relish for intellectual enjoyment, can never again be satisfied with coarseness
and vulgarity. A thousand such minds we have now around us, and there
can be no doubt that in a little while we shall all be once more prosperous
and happy. Many of our best states are, even now, wholly out of debt; and
could the present situation of our own Pennsylvania be calmly looked at,
without bringing it into contrast with the wonderful and overwrought pros-
perity of the last few years, all the consternation and dismay which seems
now iS cloud our horizon with impenetrable gloom would at once be dis-
sipated. ;

Retrospective Criticism. 429

I intended, when I began, to have told you many things about the Girard
College, as I know you feel an interest in the work, and as my own anxiety
to bring it to a completion worthy of my profession and my country makes it
the most prominent object of my thoughts and my life; but I have already
exceeded all bounds, and taxed your patience as far as would now be proper,
I shall therefore detain you with but a few brief allusions to it. Both of the
flanks of the main building are now completed, including the four corner
columns, and the scaffolding is removed, the effect of the architecture is fully
equal to my expectations, the whiteness of the marble, the large masses in
which it is used, some of the column blocks being upwards of 6 ft. in length,
and 6 ft. in diameter, and the great accuracy with which the joints are made,
add immensely to the effect. 1 propose this season to finish the capitals for
the end columns, and put on the roof of the cell, a large portion of the tiles
for which are already prepared. In the design of the roof I have followed
the Greeks in their plan of those at Eleusis, making the tiles 4 ft. by 4 ft. 6 in.,
and 3in. thick. As this part of the building is somewhat of an out of the
way affair for modern times, I intend to take another opportunity to tell you
more about it.— 7. U. W.

Art. III. Domestic Notices.

ENGLAND.

Prnus Lambertiana. (Extract of a letter from J. H. to Sir J. H.)— You
mentioned to me that you were acquainted with Mr. Lambert, and, if you
happen to see him in town, you may let him know that I have just re-
ceived from my friend, Dr. M‘Loughlin (who resides at Fort Vancouver, on
the River Columbia, on the Pacific side of North America), a parcel of the
cones of the Lambert pine, in good order and preservation, seeds and all.
They are not so large, however, as a few I had some years ago, and one of
which I gave to Mr. Lambert through our friend Mr. Ward of Kew Green.
The dimensions of the Lambert pine are enormous, and I fancy there grows
no tree in the globe so large. M‘Loughlin told me that poor Douglas
the naturalist, who was killed some years ago when exploring the woods in
his botanical pursuits, by falling into a concealed pit made for the purpose of
catching the wild bulls in the Sandwich Islands, where one of them happened
to be, and which killed him, had measured one of these trees that he had
found blown down in North America, the dimensions of which were as fol-
lows: the circumference at the ground was 52 ft., and at 250 ft. from that,
where the trunk at the top was broken off, and the top carried away by the
water, it was still 13 ft. im circumference. Sir George Simpson also told me
that he had found a Lambert pine blown down at Puget Sound Portage. The
trunk, from the root to the place where the branches grew at the top, measured
90 of his paces, say about 250 ft. Mr. M‘Millan also paced it, but made it a
few paces less; but he was a taller man than Simpson. The circumference,
about 8 ft. from the ground, where the trunk was broken off, measured 45 ft.
These pines are to be found chiefly in the country bordering the Umpqua,
or Wallamatte River, that runs into the Columbia from the south.—J. H.
Richmond Hill, June 15. 1841.

Art. IV. Retrospective Criticism.

Mr. Niven’s Stove for various Purposes. (p. 334, 234, 49.)--To enter into
a discussion with Mr. Niven relative to the objections I have to his stove, &c.,

430 Queries and Answers.

would be, I should consider, to the practical portion of the readers of your
Magazine, only to insult their understanding; as Mr. Niven’s stove, and the
arrangements therein, to any practical man, form a palpable absurdity. Whence
is it, | would ask Mr. Niven, that, on visiting the gardens of the amateur, we
are greeted with constant complaints as a cause of failure, both in their at-
tempts at growing fruit and plants, but from their being obliged to crowd into
the same house plants whose treatment ought to be (and is, when convenience
will permit) as foreign to each other, as that of the lichen from the Lapland
rocks to the Orchidacez from the jungle of Sierra Leone? Such, then, nearly
is Mr. Niven’s assemblage. His stove is the general receiver of the vegetable
kingdom from all parts of the known world. His chance of success I shall
leave to any rational person to judge.—Catius. Belfast, June 22. 1841.

[The author of this complains that we omitted a part of his first letter,
which we did ; because the terms in which it was couched were such as we
did not consider admissible unless he had given his real name. He also says
that he thinks we promised in one of our early Volumes to insert every thing
that was sent to us, verbatim; an idea that never once was entertained by us,
nor, we believe, any other editor. — Cond.]

Art. V. Queries. and Answers.

Mu'sé Cavendishii as a substitute for Pines. (p. 334.)—In answer to your
correspondent, “ I. S., Durham,” respecting Musa Cavendishz. A house of the
dimensions he has given will hold about ten full-grown or fruiting plants, with
room between for different-sized successional ones, to be tubbed successively,
as the large plants ripen off their fruit, these being shaken out of their tubs as
soon as the fruit is gathered, and potted, to produce suckers; by judicious
management in tubbing and in administering water, a supply of fruit may be
had the greater part of the year. I have had at one time ten fruiting plants
nearly of the same size and age, being suckers produced the same spring, and
receiving similar treatment ; yet no two of them produced their spadix at the
same time, and even if they were disposed to do so, it may be prevented, dif-

ferent treatment being given them. As their approach to fruiting is easily as- _

certained, by their leaves decreasing in size, soon after which the embryo fruit-
stalk may be detected by the sudden swelling of the lower part of the stem, if
more than one should show these indications at one time, the one it is desired
to fruit first must have abundance of water, and the warmest situation, and the
others be retarded by opposite treatment. The period between them may be still
further Jengthened a considerable time, if the whole spadix of fruit of one ap-
proaching too close upon another in ripening be cut off with a portion of the
stem attached, when the upper tier of fruit is just ripening, and suspended in
a dry and airy room, in the way that late grapes are often kept. I have cut
excellent fruit from a spadix, two months after it had been separated from the
plant ; and they may be made to ripen fast or slow in this manner, according to
the temperature to which they are exposed. The quicker the flower-stem is
made to develope itself, the longer the spadix will be, and the greater quantity

of fertile flowers it will produce, consequently the greater weight of fruit,’

which will vary from 15|b. to 30|b., according to the plant’s strength, the season,
and other circumstances.

I need hardly add that the soil can scarcely be too rich, and rather light than
retentive; that abundance of water may be given, and readily pass off.— Joseph
Paxton. Chatsworth Gardens, June 22. 1841.

THE

GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,
SEPTEMBER, 1841.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Art. I. Dr. Arnott’s Stoves applied to the Heating of Plant-houses.
By W. H. Baxter.

Since the enquiry respecting these stoves was inserted in the
Gardener’s Magazine, vol. xv. p.94., they have been adopted
here, in a conservatory which was then undergoing repair, and
also in a new greenhouse which was erected soon afterwards. In
the conservatory they have been worked two winters, and in the
greenhouse the past winter only; but as they have, in both in-
stances, received very constant attention, with a view of ascer-
taining their merits, &c., in this particular application, I think
I may hope to give you a pretty correct and impartial idea of
their fitness for the purpose, by stating the description and extent
of the houses in which they are placed, the size and kind of the
stoves in use, with the average consumption of fuel in severe
weather, and also a register of the thermometer in the open air,
in the greenhouse, and in the conservatory, for a certain time.

The conservatory is a large substantial stone building, with
nine large sash windows in the frontage, which have inside
shutters ; and the glass span-roof is also sheltered in some degree
by a parapet wall, which rises about 2 ft. above the gutters. It
is 56 ft. in length, and 21 ft. in height, and contains about
17,200 cubic feet of air. ‘The greenhouse, being a new erection,
is, with the exception of the back wall, entirely of framework
and glass, and has had no artificial shelter. It is 48 ft. in length,
and contains about 7,500 cubic feet of air.

In each house there are two stoves, with thermometer regu-
lators; they are made of strong sheet iron of these dimensions:
height 24 ft., length from side to side 3 ft., width from front to
back 13 ft. On the top of each is kept a good supply of water
in zinc troughs. In both houses the stoves are similarly placed,
being set back 1 ft. from the face of the back walls in recesses
cut to receive them, at distances from each other of one third the
entire length of each house. Cast-iron pipes carry off the smoke,
and terminate in a chimney in the centre of the back wall of each
house. In the conservatory, these pipes project from the wall,
but in the greenhouse they are embedded in it, which is the only
difference in the setting of the stoves in the two houses.

By frequent attention, and a good supply of coals, to the
1841.— IX. 3d Ser. FE

4.32 Heating Plant-houses by Arnott’s Stove.

amount of about half acwt. every twenty-four hours for each stove,
the heat has been kept up pretty successfully; and during the
time they have been in use here, although the situation is low
and damp, scarcely any plants have damped off in the houses
where they are; but from the great escape of smoke and dust in
lighting, and at each making up of the fires, which averaged,
during severe weather, not less than six or seven times every
twenty-four hours, the plants became clothed with a most un-
sightly black coat of dust, which was not easily removed, and was
in many instances, as in the pelargoniums, &c., retained till out-
grown. The hours for making up the fires, to keep up as regular
a heat as could be procured, were found to be about the following:
8 o’clock a. M., between 11 and 12 at noon, 3 Pp. M., between 5
and 6 p.M., 9 P.M., and between 11 and 12 o'clock at night.
January having been the coldest month during the past winter,
I have chosen the register of the thermometer for the coldest part
of that month, to show more clearly the amount of heat that these
stoves, with the above attendance, are capable of supplying.

Time. Open air.| Greenhouse. | Conservatory.
Jan. 3. 8 morn. | 36° 43° 44°

10 night 28°5 44 43
4, 8 morn. 30 43 43
94 night 31 48 4+
5. 8 morn. 27 4.1 42
11 night 28 48 42
6. 8 morn. 27 42 42
9 night 17 45 —
113 night 19 4405 42
7. §& morn. 15°5 42°5 42
Se eP.Me 19 46 42
9 night 16 46 42
12 night 16°5 45 42
8) 8) monn: 8 37 38
8% night 10 43 40
12 night 8 40 38
Oe LOL. 14 42 38
9 night 30 45 42
10. 8morn, | 32 43 42
9 night 30 42 40
Nie TNO | BZ 42 40
93 night 30 49 46
1 P= Se 0010) 9 oP 0) 43 44
9 night 29 51 48
13.) 18 morn. |) 23 41 43
94 night 34: 49 46
14. 8 morm.| 33 42 42
9 night 32 45 44.
15s Oy monn 3! 4] 42
9 night 33 46 4d

Botanic Garden, Oxford, Aug. 1841.

Geology, as a Study for Gardeners. 4:33

Art. II. Importance of Geology, as a Study for Gardeners.
By PETER MACKENZIE.

It has been said by an eminent philosopher, that “man is the
servant and interpreter of Nature.” I am not aware of any class
of men that have better opportunities for studying the wide field
of created objects, and making that knowledge bear upon the
welfare of their fellow-men, than gardeners. anne situation in
which they are placed by Providence affords them facilities for
unfolding many of the secret workings of Nature that must be
diligently sought after to be rightly understood. Their own
existence in a great measure depends upon observation and ex-
periment; and the more these are directed in a right course, in
proportion will their own advantage and that of their employers
be furthered. How necessary, then, must it be for them to
endeavour to trace the relation which one department of creation
has with another! Geology, that noble and interesting branch
of knowledge, ought to form part of a gardener’s study. It not
unfrequently happens that gardeners have to remove from one
district of country to another: at one time they may be working
in soil that is chiefly formed by the disintegration of granite and
gneiss and mica slate; at another time it may be that sort of soil
the earthy ingredients of which may be composed almost entirely
of sandstone or amorphous trap; or it may be a calcareous soil,
or those that are formed by diluvial or alluvial deposits. It is
well known that different varieties of soil require different treat-
ment; and how to treat them in the best way ought to be the
object of every cultivator of the soil. And while they are actively
engaged in acquiring knowledge for themselves, they may at the
same time be the means of extending the knowledge of geology
to’ others. Those who are placed upon the orauwacké group
may be useful in collecting remains of the A’/lgze, Filices, Equise-
taceze, and Lycopodiaceze of a former world. Others, on the
carbonaceous formation, could direct their attention to the Cont- —
ferze, Cactesee, and Huphorbzdcee. With a little perseverance,
they might obtain knowledge that would enable them to stand
upright in the presence of closeted philosophers, and exchange
information with any F.R.S. they might come in contact with.
While they may become the auxiliaries of such men as Buckland
and Lyell, and Murchison, on the one hand, they may on the
other, be the means of sowing the seeds of useful instruction
among a rural population, and leading their minds to closer
contact with the works of their great Preserver and Benefactor ;
and thus, by the subordinate agency of gardeners, many may be
turned from grovelling pursuits to seek higher and more en-
nobling food to nourish their immortal minds.
West Plean, August 13. 1841.

FF 2

4.34, Ice-Pit at Erskine House.

Art. III. Some Account of a Pit for preserving Ice, in Use at
Erskine House, Renfrewshire. By G. Suieius, Gardener there.

In compliance with your request, I send you some account of
our ice-pit, beginning with a statement of the circumstances
which led to its adoption; the ice-house here is of the common
form, but placed unfortunately in a damp situation, and con-
sequently had failed in keeping ice throughout the season. Mr.
Middleton, gardener at Blythswood, had, in consequence of the
ice-house there not keeping ice well, dug two pits in a sandy
bank by the side of a deep sunk fence, in which he succeeded in
preserving ice through the season. ‘These pits are about 14 or
15 feet in diameter at top, but much narrower at bottom, and
about 7 ft. deep. I think there are drains leading from the
bottoms of these pits to the sunk fence. Previously to putting in
the ice, the bottoms of the pits are covered with pieces of wood,
over which are laid faggots or small branches; the ice has no
other covering or protection than 12 or 15 inches in depth of
soft peat or bog earth laid over the top, in close contact with the
ice. Although only a few yards separate, ice keeps much better
in the one pit than in the other.

Previously to making our pit, I went to examine those at
Blythswood ; this was in 1837. ‘The idea struck me that a gravelly
soil might suit better than sand, as being more free of moisture ;
also that a light temporary covering might be advantageous in
preserving the ice from excess of moisture in rainy weather,
especially when the moss cracks and opens as the ice subsides,
and also for the convenience of taking out the ice in wet weather,
and keeping it clean. Under this idea, we had a pit dug on the
top of a gravelly bank having a north exposure, surrounded by
large forest trees, which shaded it completely from the sun in
summer: its dimensions are 16 ft. in diameter at top, and about
10 ft. at the bottom, by 8 ft. in depth. As no water remained
standing long in the bottom after a heavy shower, no drain was
required, otherwise a drain would have been necessary; which,
however, should be completely filled with small gravel, to prevent,
as much as possible, the cold air from ascending through it. In
the bottom are laid branches of trees or young trees, from 4 in. to
8 in. in diameter, which are covered with small branches or
faggots for the ice to rest upon ; it also serves as a drain.

During severe frost we fill the pit. The ice is well broken,
and rammed close; that broken small being occasionally scattered
over that not so finely broken, to fill up the interstices. To aid
in consolidating the whole, water is poured upon it from time to
time from the rose of a watering-pot; in filling the pit, we gene-
rally use two large puncheonfuls. The ice is raised 3 ft. above
the surface of the ground. At finishing we give it an extra

Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees. 435
watering and beating, leaving it uncovered all night, if the frost
is likely to continue. Next day we cover the surface with soft
peat or bog earth to the depth of 12 or 15 inches, afterwards a few
rafters and spars are put over the ice and lightly thatched with
reeds. Our pit has now been in operation upwards of three
years, and has kept the ice well. We generally open it in June
(having a small heap piled up on the surface of the ground, and
covered with moss, which serves till that time), by clearing off a
part of the moss, which is not again replaced, as it would soil the
ice. Sometimes a bundle of straw is put over the opening, but
we generally leave it uncovered, the ice protruding through the
moss like a block of marble, for we feel no apprehension of a defi-
ciency. At the end of the year, or when we clear out the moss to
prepare for putting in new ice, there is generally 3 or 4 feet of the
old ice remaining, over which we put the new ice; last winter we
had all the old ice taken out, to examine the bottom and re-
new the wood, if necessary. ‘The moss is dug from a bog, carted
forward, and laid on damp: the same moss has served to cover
the pit for three years, it gets mixed with the leaves, but that
appears to do no harm; perhaps half-wetted leaves might be a
substitute where moss cannot be obtained. In bringing forward
the ice we generally empty the carts into the pit at once, and
there spread and break it; the three leading points being sim-
plicity, cheapness, and efficiency.

Erskine House Gardens, July 29. 1841.

Art. IV. On Mr. Gavin Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees.

Havin lately had an opportunity of inspecting some trees which
had, been for twenty years subjected to Mr. Cree’s system of
pruning, under the immediate direction of Mr. Cree himself,
we have formed a very high opinion of its importance, in the
case of plantations made with a view to profit, and we intend to
make it as widely known as our means will permit. We insert,
in the meantime, two articles which we have received from Mr.
Cree, and his papers on the subject published in the Quarterly
Journal of Agriculture, and after we have examined some of
the trees referred to in the first of these articles, we shall have
something further to say on the subject. —Cond.
Edinburgh, August 10. 1841.

An Outline of Gavin Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees.

ARBORICULTURE affords a never-failing source of pleasure to
the planter, while its effects give beauty to the landscape. In
dropping the acorn, we should not forget that its offspring ought

FF 3

456 Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees.

to be cherished and cultivated, that it may more surely arrive at
that heart of oak, emblematic of the bravery of our people, and
which has ever been an ornament and a bulwark of defence to
our land. We intend to give an outline of a method by which
trees may be successfully cultivated, and some of our reasons to
prove that method to be judicious. ‘To cultivate wood on phy-
siological principles, it is necessary to have a knowledge of the
organs which constitute the internal and external structure of
trees, and of the various functions that these organs perform
through the instrumentality of external agents. ‘Trees are
generally treated as if they were mere inorganic matter; they
are operated on as the ploughman operates on the ground, or as
the carpenter and blacksmith on the wood or iron under their
hands. Many eminent men have written treatises on vegetable
anatomy and physiology, and many have promulgated their
notions on the pruning of forest trees, while neither party under-
stood how the science of vegetable physiology ought to direct
the mechanical operation of pruning, so as to make it affect, to
the greatest extent, the growth and health of the tree. ‘There
is in trees, as in animals, a vital power which presides over all
their functions. This power is the agent by which the ascent
and descent of the sap is produced, and certain internal and
external causes facilitate the exercise of this phenomenon.
Among the external causes is to be ranked the influence of air,
heat, light, and moisture, and the system of operating on the
lateral branches by shortening them.

I shall give an outline of the principles which led me to the
conviction that the system of pruning by shortening the lateral
branches, which I brought forward a number of years ago, is
calculated, more than any other, to secure for the benefit of the
tree an extra nourishment.

The organs of nutrition or vegetation have one common ob-
ject to support, namely, life in the vegetable; and the power of
these organs may be greatly increased by mechanical means.
In order to use these means in a way to assist nature, some
knowledge of the physiology of plants is requisite; either the
operator or the superintendant must understand how the organs
exert their functions, otherwise they cannot reasonably expect
to be successful. ‘The different processes of the sap (or vege-
tative blood) of trees must especially be carefully studied, as by
it their growth and vigour are sustained. ‘The sap is acquired
and influenced by diverse ways. In spring, the small sponge-
Jets or extremities of the roots absorb the fluids and gases from
the soil, which are conveyed by an inherent power depending
on the life of the tree, or, more properly, the ascending sap is
acted on through the roots by atmospheric pressure, up through
the capillary tubes, till it reaches the extreme ramification of

Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees. 43'7

the stem, shooting forth buds and expanding leaves. The com-
mon sap, having extended over all the branches, mingles with
the fluid absorbed by the leaves, and, losing the watery and
aériform principles, which are useless for nutrition, by evapo-
ration, it returns dewn the vessels of the bark, and in its course
deposits cambium, which forms the annual rings of wood, then
extends to and strengthens the extremities of the rootlets,
whereby they are made to extract more nourishment from the
soil throughout the season, and, as the two saps commingle in
the leaves, the descending sap, which has not been deposited, in
like manner mixes with that extracted by the rootlets, and is
again carried up with the ascending sap.

_ How to economise these fluids for the advantage of the tree is
next to be considered. It is obvious, then, that when the upper
lateral branches are shortened to half the length of the leading
stem, and the others proportionally, the sap has less superficies
to cover than when they are allowed to extend to an improper
length and thickness; in consequence, there is a greater supply
for every part of the tree; and as other fluids, such as water,
moving in a channel, acquire additional momentum when
augmented, greater vigour and velocity of movement are im-
parted to the sap by the abundance of quantity ; and so great is
the beneficial effect resulting therefrom to the tree, that, from
the extraordinary size and health of the foliage which clothes
the branches, it attracts more than three times the nourish-
ment ordinarily imbibed from the atmosphere under different
management. '

The branches which are shortened always remain slender. By
reason of the small superficies of the branch, and the rapidity with
which the sap moves, very little of it is retained by the branch,
and of course nearly the whole is deposited in the body of the tree.
This truth, with the fact that the foliage remains nearly a month
longer on the trees so shortened than on others, accounts for
the wonderful rapidity of growth effected by this method of
pruning. The smallness of the branches is of advantage likewise
when it is necessary to prune close to the stem, as the wound
made by that operation is proportionally small, and may be
expected to cicatrise in the course of three years,

It may be worth remarking, that, if the branches are pro-
perly shortened, trees never become what is termed hidebound.
In the royal forests, Lord Glenbervie had instruments for
ripping the bark of oaks (which never could increase nutrition),
and scraping off the lichens; but had the branches been judi-
ciously shortened, the descending sap would have been so aug-
mented, through means of a more healthy foliage, as to have
obviated the disease; as the bark expands in proportion to the
quantity and quality of sap carried down, and if that be abundant,

FE 4

4.38 Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees.

it soon clears itself of all impurities. Even mismanaged trees,
on which a dryness of bark has occurred, may be brought toa
proper condition in the course of three seasons. In cases of this
kind, the distance from the body at which the branches are
amputated must be regulated by the size of the tree — the
larger the tree, the greater the distance. .

It has been found, experimentally, that trees under eighteen
feet in height, and fifteen inches in circumference, advance, taken
averagely, as much both in height and circumference, in six
years, if the branches are properly shortened, as they do in fifteen
years, if these are not shortened, or are improperly pruned. ‘the
more trees are pruned close up to the stem before they are
eighteen feet high, their growth is proportionally retarded. Trees
pruned close to the stem, when the circumference at the part is™
under fifteen inches, take in damp, so that the tree, if dissected
after a certain period at the part where the branches have been
cut, will be found black into the pith. This department of
pruning, when improperly managed, is the principal cause of
rot, more particularly in the larch. The reason is, the wood in
young trees is more open in texture than in older ones.

I refer the enquiring reader to my several treatises on thinning
and pruning plantations in the Glasgow Farmer’s Register, 1828,
and to the three articles in the Quarterly Journal of Agricul-
ture, vol. iii. [here reprinted with Mr. Cree’s permission], in
which are included the prize essays of the Highland and Agri-
cultural Society of Scotland on the subject of pruning. All
with respect ‘to science has been excluded ; and to show the ad-
vantage of science, I shall make some extracts from the Edin-
burgh Literary Journal, 1830.

“ Mr. Cruickshanks furnishes a minute account of all the
practical details from Sir Henry Steuart’s works. He cautiously
abstains from any attempt to make his readers acquainted with
the sczentific principles; a developement of which, had he given
it, would have rendered these details ten times more interesting
to any readers, learned or unlearned. But he could not deve-
lope what he did not comprehend; as clearly appears from the
whole tenor and complexion of his book. It is the lamentable
want of this knowledge which has made Boutcher, Marshall,
and Nicol, all meritorious writers, appear unsatisfactory, Han-
bury useless, and Pontey ridiculous; and has rendered the
pruning system of the last mentioned so ruinous to the woods
of England. In a word, it is this want of indispensable scientific
information that has kept arboriculture, in all its low branches,
down to the low rank of a mechanical art. We should earnestly
advise our planters, and our writers on planting, to unite their
best efforts in bringing about a new era in this neglected art.
They should endeavour at length to learn that a tree is not, as

Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees.’ 439

too many suppose, an inanimate substance, but a living being
like themselves; that in its constituent parts it possesses the
same chemical principles as they do, though with different pro-
perties, and under different laws of organisation.”

_ My system is to shorten the branches till the tree is above
18 feet or greater height, and not less than 15 inches or any
oreater circumference, before close pruning commences. This
system has extended to the royal parks, London, and other parts
of England, Germany, and Scotland. ‘Trees which I have pruned
may be seen at Sir R. K. Dick’s, Bart., Prestonfield, Eagle and
Henderson’s nurseries, and at the East Prince’s Street Gardens,
Edinburgh. The Right Hon. Lord Douglas got trees pruned as
aspecimen. ‘The Hon. Admiral Fleming, from what he had got
done, expressed his approbation by stating that my system was the
first of the age. The late Lord Advecate, now Lord Murray, on
seeing trees that I had pruned for above twenty years, said it would
be of national advantage ifthe system were adopted in the royal
forests, and that he would recommend it in the strongest terms
to Lord Duncannon. ‘The late Sir Henry Steuart, Bart., after
pruning and repruning, expressed his approbation in his Planter’s
Guide ; and Sir Thomas G. Carmichael, Bart., Sir John Nasmyth,
Bart., and Dr. Thackery, M.D., Chester, England, gave compli-
mentary letters, and were pruning above 800 acres on my system:
and the late William Elliot Lockhart, Esq., M.P.; W.Scott, Esq.,
Teviotbank ; A. Dickson, Esq., Hasendeanburn; Robert Dick,
Esq., Prestonfield; George T. Stoddart Esq., Oliver; Charles
Ferrier, Eisq., Baddinsgill; W.Lock, Esq., Rachan; David Dick-
son, Ksq., Kilbucho; Adam Sim, Esq., Culter Mains; R.G.
Baillie, Esq., Culter; Robert B. Campbell, Esq., Cornhill; George
Gillespie, Ksq., Biggar Park; Lawrence Brown, Esq., Edmonston ;
Charles Cunningham, Esq., Newholm; Robert Somerville,
Esq., Cormiston; James Wyld, Esq., Springfield ; John Wyld,
Esq., Westernbank; Alexander Wright, Esq., nurseryman,
Edinburgh ; Dickson and Sons, do.; Mr. Scott, East Prince’s
Street Gardens, do.; Mr. J. Reid, do.; Mr. Barnet, do.; Mr.
Nicol, do.; Mr. Spalden, Peebles; Mr. Lamb, Selkirk; Mr.
Thomson, Lanark; Mr. Robert Brown, forester, Carnwath;
and Mr. Andrew Turnbull, forester, Biggar Shiells, have all
expressed themselves favourably in regard to my system.

Gavin Cree respectfully intimates to noblemen and gentle-
men that he continues to give directions to others, and to prune
forest trees on scientific principles. He will likewise give
rules, mathematically established, on the thinning of plant-
ations, including planing and draining.

He begs also to refer to Professor Low, in his Elements of
Avriculture (on Wood), as a proof of his qualifications. In that
treatise it is stated that Mr. Cree has brought the system of

44.0 Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees.

pruning toa point of improvement never before known. William
Scott, Esq., W.S., Northumberland Street, Convener of the
Committee of the Highland and Agricultural Society, who
awarded the prizes for the essays on the pruning of forest trees
in 1836, expressed his highest satisfaction with the system, work-
manship, and direction, at his estate of Teviotbank, in Sep-
tember, 1839, ‘The Rey. Mr. Christison has also noticed the
same in the statistical account of Biggar. In the nursery of Eagle
and Henderson, Edinburgh, experimental trees may be seen.
Biggar, February 10. 1840.

Art. V. On Pruning Forest Trees. By GAvIN CREE,
Nurseryman, Biggar.

In the last number of this Journal [Quarterly Journal of Agri-
culture], I observe an article by Mr. Matthew of Gourdie-Hill,
containing remarks on a paper of mine, in the preceding number,
on Pruning Forest Trees. ‘That gentleman’s avowed object in
coming forward is with the laudable design of showing the er-
roneousness of my system to such of the readers of this Journal
as, he says, are incompetent, from want of experience or ob-
servation, to judge for themselves. How far he has accomplished
this object will be seen in the sequel.

Mr. Matthew gives a pretty correct abridgement of my prin-
ciples of pruning forest trees, with some slight inadvertencies ;
in regard to which, however, as these are distinctly enough
stated in the article itself, and as they do not particularly bear
upon the matters at issue, I need not here waste time by putting
him right.

It is contended by Mr. Matthew that pruning will not increase
the quantity of timber, and this he couples with his view of all
that is necessary to obtain clean timber. ‘ With regard,” says
he, ‘to the one half of the timber produced in the temperate
zone, the Coniferee, pruning in any shape whatever will not in-
crease the quantity of timber, either in the single tree, or on a
given space of ground. A well regulated closeness, or rather
openness, being all that is required for extension; and the
sweeping of the smothered branches close down being all that
is required for cleanness of timber. In the woods consisting of
the other tribes of larger-leaved trees, pruning will also have no
influence in increasing the quantity of timber, provided the
closeness be properly regulated, and the trees be kept to one
leader till they reach the required height of stems.” I ask Mr.
Matthew how these objects could be accomplished without
pruning or cutting off the branches, or parts of branches, in

Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees. 441

some manner or other, which, if not pruning, must be held to be
very nearly allied to it.

Mr. Matthew then states that my system of pruning “will
never ultimately increase the size of the tree, or its measurable
timber; but, on the contrary, will greatly retard the extension,
and destroy the capacity to attain a large size, and in many kinds
will even induce early decay; the lower branches more particu-
larly promoting the enlargement of the roots.” This can only
take place with his solitary trees, hedgerows, outsides of clumps,
and skirts of woods, and from a different cause than that which
he assigns. Wherever trees are of the same age, and of a large
size, it will be found, that the shorter the stem is, the circum-
ference is the greater; but that does not show that the quantity
of timber is greater. For many years after trees have attained
their utmost height, they increase in circumference. ‘To exem-
plify what I state. In 1829, I measured within the area of ten
falls, situate at an altitude of 780 ft., ten different kinds of trees,
fourteen years after having been planted; and their average
height was 18 ft. 9 in.; their clean stem was 3 ft. 8in.; and their
circumference, at 6 in. above the surface, was 14 in. and 3 parts.
I also measured four beech trees in the south end of a hedgerow,
at the same altitude, planted in 1742 by my grandfather, and
the lands have been in the possession of the family ever since,
the average height of which trees was 72 ft., the clean trunk
28 ft. 6 in., and the average circumference for timber measure
6 ft. 4 in., which gives 95 cubic feet of timber to each tree. This
shows the proportions of the height to the circumference of
young and old trees. The young trees are 18? ft. in height, to
144 in. in circumference; the old trees are 72 ft. in height, to the
average circumference, at 4 ft. in height, of 86 in., which shows
that young trees exceed in height in feet their circumference in
inches; and when of age, the circumference in inches exceeds
the height in feet. And further, a tree 10 ft. in length of trunk
requires 12 ft. 4in.; 20 ft. in length. 8 ft. 9 in.; 30 ft. in length,
7 ft. 2in.; 40 ft. in length, 6 ft. 2 in., in circumference, to contain
95 cubic feet nearly. By a careful inspection of old trees, it will
be found, that, in proportion to the height of clean trunk and
head, the greater number of cubic feet will the tree contain in
the same number of years.

Mr. Matthew’s criticism on my article will be pretty well illus-
trated by the following, amongst others of his paragraphs. “ His
early pruning,” says he, “on the contrary, disposing the re-
maining branches to push as leaders, to become, in proportion
to their diminished number, larger; thus rendering the upper
part of the trunk rough timber, and also deterring the root ex-
tension, is on a par with the worst of systems.” Had Mr.
Matthew taken the trouble to read my essay with any attention,

442 Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees.

he would have found it distinctly stated, that the remaining
branches are all to be shortened, and more especially any large
one which is gaining a disproportionate ascendancy over others;
and thus this very pretended evil, which he wishes so largely to
magnify, was in an especial manner provided against in my
system.

Mr. Matthew, in his directions for training plank timber, says:
“Cut off, close by the trunk, all shoots which rise at a very
acute angle with the main stem; also lop off all branches which,
by taking an irregular direction, incline to rub upon the more
regular, and remove all splintered, twisted, and diseased branches.”
By a single glance at this paragraph, it may be seen that he has
transformed the principles of orchard-pruning into that of plank
timber.

He continues. “ After the tree has acquired a sufficient height
for plank, say from 20 to 60 feet, according to circumstances of
exposure, climate, &c., and also as much branching above this
height as may be thought necessary to carry on advantageously
the vital functions, as the superior head will now sustain small
injury by being thrown out into large branches and plurality of
leaders, it will then be proper, in order to have timber as clean
as possible, and regularly flexible, to lop clean off all the branches
on the stem as far up as this required height; should these be
covering the whole or a considerable portion of the stem, as will
occur in the more open situations, where the lower branches have
gradually become sickly or dead, they ought to be removed by
several successive prunings, at intervals of at least two years,
that the plant may not suffer any injurious check by losing too
many branches at once. From the early attention to procure
very numerous feeders, and to prevent any from attaining very
large size, the wounds will soon be closed over, leaving no ex-
ternal scar, and as little as possible of internal knot or breaking
of the fibre. Should a number of small shoots spring out in
consequence of this last pruning, they may be swept down, if
good plank be desired. The oak and elm are more disposed to
this sprouting out than other kinds.”

Now, suppose that proprietors were disposed to follow Mr.
Matthew’s system, and that they had to commence with the
making of young plantations; and suppose further, that they
wished only to have clean timber to the height of 40 ft., with a
head conformable; it is evident that they must, at the earliest,
continue their exertions for nearly half a century, before one tree
would be in a state fit for being pruned up for his plank timber.
And, from the uncertainty of human life, few, I am afraid, if any,
would continue the system so long. I allow that taking out a
few branches, even those that rise at an acute angle, is of benefit,
and which is in conformity with the old system; and where the

Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees. 4.43

branches are taken off, numbers of small shoots spring out as
feeders. But instead of trees having a handsome appearance,
as is the case where the branches are only shortened to a pro-
portional length, those trees where the branches are taken out,
from whatever cause, always put out numerous feeders; or
otherwise have all the appearance of a large bottle-brush, from
the small size of branches, and large quantity of them which
must be upon the tree. And those to be removed even to the
height of 40 ft. of clean stem, at the intervals of two years, must
require a considerable work and time, from so many branches
intersecting the body of a tree of such a size, and in most in-
stances putting out new shoots for a great number of years, which
it will be often found impossible to eradicate.

Although the wounds of trees of the size stated should close
over, the trees will always have a rugged and unshapely ap-
pearance instead of having a cylindrical form. It requires little
inspection of trees generally, to see that below the ordinary-
sized branches a hollow is made, in consequence of the de-
scending or proper sap being turned out of its course. Even
when the branch is small a hollow will occur, and the parts of
the trunk of a large tree that are free of branches, and other
parts above the branch, will be found to increase, while the part
below the branch remains in a great degree stationary, and a
hollow is formed; nay, though the branch should be removed,
the hollow will still continue, probably as long as the tree re-
mains.

With regard to naval timber, almost all writers wish to let the
world know that if their advice were taken, there would be suf-
ficiency of timber for the British navy of all kinds required, and
that the great importance of the whole matter consists in under-
standing the growing of bent and crooked timber fit for any part
of aship. But this hobby has been long walking on crutches.
Sir Robert Seppings long ago recommended the plan of uniting
short timbers, which was adopted, by which every kind of
compass-formed timber that could be required was obtained
from straight timber. ‘The whole frame of a ship can be pre-
pared without waiting as formerly for particular pieces of compass.
or crooked timber, and every part is now equally seasoned by
the new system. All that is required is to raise timber of the
best and soundest quality, and of the different kinds ; for such is
now the state of the science of ship-building and the mechanical
arts, that they can do very well without the advice of writers on
naval timber.

I might have said much more on the subject of pruning; but
as both Mr. Matthew’s system and my own are now before the
public, I have said as much as the public might feel interested
in, and as bears chiefly upon the points at issue. Mr. Matthew

444: Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees.

wields the pen with much ease, and will, I apprehend, like a true
naval man, as well as a naval timber writer, not easily be over-
come. But always playing at long bowls will be of little service
to the public. Let us, therefore, at once come to point blank
distances, as ships are made to do when well commanded, and
show by actual workmanship which of the systems will be of
most advantage to the country. Let the trees which have been
pruned under my system, and those pruned under Mr. Matthew’s
system, be examined by a body of men qualified to judge, to be
mutually chosen: or, should Mr. Matthew have no trees to
show pruned under his system, let us both commence our work
of pruning together; and let it be a distinct stipulation in the
compact, that whatever decision regarding the respective merits
of the systems these individuals may come to, that decision shall
be laid before the public.
Biggar, September 8. 1831.

Art. VI. On Pruning Forest Trees. By GAvin CREE,
Nurseryman, Biggar

To its woods a country owes much of its beauty; they temper
the severity of the climate for the benefit both of the flocks and
the crops of the husbandman. But in a no less important point
are woods to be viewed, from their economic value. As timber
they are extensively, nay, universally, employed in all the me-
chanical arts; and hence the proprietor of woods has to look to
them not only as an interesting, but as a highly valuable, species
of property.

Woods are so extensively grown, that there are few landed
properties, however small they may be, where they are not to
be found to a greater or less extent, either planted by the
hand of man, or the spontaneous production of nature. And
as it must be obvious that a vast body of people, either as pro-
prietors or as having woods under their charge, must feel an
interest in the proper mode of management of this species of
property, I trust that you will readily give a place to the follow-
ing observations on one of the principal subdivisions of this
extensive subject — Pruning. That the management of woods
is not well understood, or at least but imperfectly attended to,
and therefore that the remarks which I am about to state are not
uncalled for, may readily be admitted, if we may be allowed to
judge from the present state in which a great majority of woods
are to be found. I am sure, indeed, that any person of ordinary
observation will agree with me in-saying that the mode of
management bestowed upon woods, in most places, is far behind
its sister art, the agricultural operations of the field. But

Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees. AAS

we ought always to keep in mind, that a mismanaged crop of
wood is a very different thing from a mismanaged crop of corn.
The latter is only an annual crop; and hence, however much a
farmer may feel for the failure of any of his crops through care-
lessness or mismanagement, the loss is only that of a single
season; whereas a mismanaged crop of wood is, comparatively
speaking, the loss of the land itself, the crop requiring frequently
half a century, and sometimes more, to arrive at maturity. But
it is much easier to admit that the evil of mismanagement of our
woods does exist, than to explain the reasons of that carelessness
or indifference towards this species of property, on the part of
those to whom, under proper management, it would become such
a source of profit.

The young and rising tree must be modified by art; for,
though Nature performs her work unassisted and alone, she is
often found to produce irregularities in the growth to maturity
of a tree, which are not profitable, nor suited to the uses to
which it is employed by man: hence it is for man to modify
the tree, so as to suit the purposes required.

Much discrepancy exists in the statements of different authors
on the subject of pruning. Pontey, Nicol, Sang, Monteath, and
others, as is well known, hold very different opinions on many
points connected with it. In such circumstances, those who
have the charge of woods, and who may be more guided by the
opinions of others than from rules deduced from their own
experience, may feel a difficulty in determining the proper
system which ought to be adopted. Besides, it is not to be
expected that foresters in general, and quiet country gentlemen,
should have in their possession the works of many authors on
this subject, to enable them to contrast and collate the different
modes recommended, and to weigh their merits, or ascertain
their correctness, by long-tried experiments. Hence it is that
some have implicitly followed one system, until they ultimately
found it to be a bad one; others, again, have followed a different
system, which they, too, have found to fall far short of their ex-
pectations in its beneficial effects; and the result of these attempts,
commenced with a disposition to manage well, has often been
to neglect their woods altogether. But that this is a state in
which trees ought not to be left, is easy to be shown. ‘Trees,
when left to themselves, often have a tendency to shoot out into
large forked branches, or two or more shoots contend with each
other for ascendancy as leaders; and such trees, even at the
_ period of maturation, will frequently be found to present only a
quantity of brushwood. Now, it is the province of pruning,
under a proper system, to modify and correct these evils; in
short, in order to produce a clean and large stem of timber,
pruning can rarely be dispensed with.

4.46 Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees.

When opinions on the subject of pruning are in such an un-
settled state, I conceive that it may not be deemed an intrusion
in me, to present an account of my humble efforts in this depart-
ment of forest culture. And I may observe, that, whether the
rules which I shall lay down shall be adopted generally or not,
I have the satisfaction of stating that they are not ingenious
speculations or theoretical schemes, but have been derived from
observations and my own practice in that system during a period
of nearly thirty years; and I may add, that, in whatever light
it may be viewed by others, the system has, in all cases which
have come under my observation, been crowned with the most
satisfactory results. As the system which I shall lay down has
an especial reference to the general functions of the plant, and
will, I trust, always be found in accordance with the laws of
these functions, to make myself understood to those who have
not devoted attention to this subject, I find it will be necessary
to state shortly so much of vegetable anatomy and physiology as
falls within the pale of my subsequent remarks.

In explaining the anatomy of the wood, a transverse section
of a young tree near the root will best show the parts to be
mentioned. The pith is the part in the centre, which is composed
of cellular tissue. Around the pith is the wood, formed of con-
centric cylinders, agreeing in number near the root with the age
of the tree. Exterior to the outmost of these is the bark, which
consists of three parts. ‘The first is the outer covering, termed
the epidermis ; immediately below it is the soft pulpy substance
of cellular tissue, or parenchyma. ‘The third is the cortical con-
centric layers constituting the mass of the bark, the innermost
of which is called the liber; and it is between this liber and
the last concentric layer of wood that the alburnum is annually
deposited.

The functions of vegetables, and in particular with reference
to the modes and offices of the ascent and descent of the sap,
have excited the scrutiny, and exercised the ingenuity, of physi-
ologists. In this field have appeared Malpighi, Grew, Hales,
Hedwig, Du Hamel, Saussure, Senebier, Darwin, Ellis, Keith,
Knight, and a host of others. When the earlier of these authors
wrote, vegetable anatomy and physiology were, comparatively
speaking, little understood; and from the little that was known,
or from their own observed facts of isolated cases, the whole
structure of vegetable physiology was made up; but a conside-
rable part of it, as was to be expected, consisted of the fanciful
theories of these eminent men. Subsequent researches and ob-
servations, however, have dispelled the mists from most of these
ingenious but fallacious theories, and the science may now be
held to rest upon a pretty solid basis, to a part of which I shall
briefly advert.

Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees. 447

Early in spring, as the temperature of the atmosphere is
elevated, the sap ascends in the tree. It is absorbed from the
soil by the minute spongelets at the extremities of the capillary
rootlets of the root; and it ascends through the root upwards.
In‘very young trees its ascent is through the pith, and also in
young branches; but in trees even of a few years old, as well
as in old trees, it ascends neither through the bark, nor between
the wood and the bark, nor the pith, but through the concentric
layers of wood, and, in the greatest quantity, through those last
formed.

The bud, which is formed in the preceding summer or au-
tumn, is supposed to be nourished previously to the evolution of
the leaf, by nutrient matter in the alburnum deposited in the
preceding autumn. After vernation takes place, and the leaves
are all expanded, the sap still continues to rise through the wood,
ascends to the branches, and from them to the leaves. The leaf
itself is formed of a vascular system of cellular tissue, covered
with an epidermis. The sap, when it ascends to the leaf, per-
spires, or throws off a large quantity of aqueous vapour. It is
then acted upon by light and air, in a manner unnecessary to be
here explained; and it is at this part of the plant, and stage
of the course of the sap, that plants, in the opinion of some
philosophers, obtain the peculiar properties, aromatic, narcotic,
and the like. After the common sap has been thus changed
by the agency of the leaf, it is now called “ proper juice” ; it
accordingly descends in what are called proper vessels, in con-
tradistinction to those in which it rises, and which in trees are
commonly situated in the bark. ‘Trees, however, possess the
properties of adding their new wood either from the liber or the
alburnum, but it is generally deposited between the liber and the
alburnum of the last year, which is now being formed into wood.
The new vegetable matter thus formed, which was by Grew
termed cambium, differs in colour and properties from the proper
juice, and is regarded as a secretion, separated from the proper
juice by the vascular structure of the liber or alburnum. And
it is in this state that it is fit for the formation of vegetable
matter, and each year forms the concentric cylinder of new
alburnum.

It thus appears that leaves form the primary objects of vege-
table functions, and that they form the organs of communica-
tion between the wood and the bark, and are the chief cause
of the ascent of the sap after they have expanded. ‘The sap,
indeed, does ascend, and even in greater quantity, before the
leaves have expanded; but this is an effort which the tree is
known to possess only for a limited period. And the experi-
ments of Dr. Hales and others made upon plants by divesting
them of their leaves, clearly show the important functions which

1841. —IX. 3d Ser. GG

448 Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees.

the leaves perform in the vegetable economy. Now, as branches
are the supports or pedestals of leaves, and as the latter are of
such vital importance to the proper growth of the tree, and the
increase in magnitude of the stem, it is the leading feature in
the system of pruning just to be explained to operate upon the
branches in such a manner as not to prove injurious, but to
accelerate the growth of the tree.

To manage woods in a proper manner, young trees should be
examined even the third year after they are planted; and if any
more leading shoots than one are found to exist, the best one
should be selected, and the others shortened to one half the
length of the selected shoot. This practice of examining the
trees should be continued every year till they are about 15 ft.
in height. ‘These shortenings, however, which should not be
confined to superfluous leading shoots, but should include any
branch which is gaining a disproportionate ascendancy over other
branches of the same year’s growth, should, at first, and even
for some time previous to this stage of the growth of the plant,
be more cautiously done than is necessary to be observed after-
wards; and should increase in severity asthe tree approaches to,
and after it is, 15 ft. in height.

The process of examining a tree is a simple one; it is done in
a moment by the pruner casting his eye over the whole tree,
and detecting the branches which require to be shortened.
And, as a general rule, when it is found that any branch has a
greater growth upon it than the leading shoot, it should be
shortened by cutting off as much as will reduce it to half the
length of the leading shoot, or even less. By this I mean any
Drnivehiany vehi etnies of greater thickness generally, or near
its Junction with the main “Satan of the tree, than the leading
shoot is at the same distance from its top. And, as trees pro-
duce only one regular tier of branches in each year, any branch
should be shortened which is of a greater length than the ma-
jority of the branches of the same tier ; or if the whole are too
long, they must be shortened. In the case of trees intended for
timber, after they are at and above 15 ft. in height, this rule of
shortening the branches must also be applied to the undermost
tiers of branches. In this manner, all the under branches of any
importance will have been shortened, which prepares them for
the next operation.

After the trees are about 15 ft. in height, the undermost
tier of branches only should all be cut off close to the stem in
one year; in the subsequent year another tier of branches
should, in the same manner, be cut off, and so on every year
afterwards, always cutting off only a single tier in one year.
The same process of shortening the branches is always to be
continued, as before directed, but must be discontinued some

Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees. 44.9

years before the cutting off of the branches shall be discontinued,
so as to give a more extended top to the tree; for all trees that
have naturally conical heads, such as the willow, poplar, larch,
silver and spruce fir, require longer heads than those trees that
are of a spreading nature, such as the oak, beech, and others.
But no branch, wherever it be situated, is to be cut off close to
the stem, until such branch stands upon the undermost tier.
In this mode of shortening the branches, it will be seen that
the tree will at all times present a head of nearly a conical form ;
and advantage should also be taken of shortening such branches
as will balance the tree best, and produce the proper shape of
the top. But, in shortening the branches, too much should
never be done in one year; nor will it be necessary to do so,
provided the trees are attended to in the regular manner I have
described.

Many advantages resulting from this mode of shortening the
branches may suggest themselves to the careful enquirer. It is
well known, that when a part is taken off from the leading shoot
of a tree, however small that part may be, the growth of the
remaining part of that shoot is greatly impaired, and is never
afterwards able to keep pace in growth with the other branches.
But the new leading shoot which springs out in consequence of
the other having been impaired, and the part of the stem at
which it springs out and downwards, will be found to increase in
a greater proportion than even lateral branches of greater mag-
nitude than this new leading shoot. It thus appears that the
greatest part of the energies of the tree is naturally directed
through the main stem chiefly to the leading shoot; and where
a tree has two leading shoots or more, these energies are divided
amongst them. Or where there are large branches with many
subordinate branches upon them, these will also divide the
efforts of the growth of the tree, and retain an undue proportion
of them. Now, it appears, as has already been observed, that
the growth of any particular branch or leading shoot may be
ereatly debilitated by merely shortening it. Nay, it will even be
found, that to cut off the bud of a leading shoot, this purpose
will, to a certain extent, be accomplished. But we must ever bear
in mind, that any great dismembering of the vegetable structure
must operate upon many of its functions, and hence is often
found to prove injurious to its growth. Whatever is done,
therefore, ought to be done gradually; and this method of
shortening the branches, which I have explained, paves the way
for their final amputation.

I have endeavoured to explain the important part which the
leaves perform in the elaboration of the proper juice. Now, by
this mode of shortening the branches, a number of smaller

subordinate branches will still be left upon the shortened branch
GG 2

4.50 Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees.

to produce leaves, and which will perform at least a considerable
part of the functions of the branch in its unshortened state.
The effect produced on the remaining part of a shortened
branch is to produce larger leaves the first year. ‘This may be
accounted for from the quantity of sap intended for the entire
branch, which will ascend in the first spring, being now applied
only to the part remaining. And, besides the neatness and
uniformity of foliage which a tree so shortened is found to ex-
hibit, the leaves on these shortened branches will still remain to
perform their useful functions. I may add, that, under this
mode of pruning, I have found that trees in general will
advance in growth as much in one year as they will advance in
three or four years under similar circumstances, but when not so
pruned.

At that period when the shortening and cutting off of the
branches should commence, I have stated the size which the
tree ought to be; but it remains to be shown how long the
practice ought to be continued, or, in other words, what pro-
portion the head of a tree ought to bear to the pruned trunk.
Pontey, Sang, and Monteath conceive that the growth of the
stem is as effectually promoted by having few branches to a
head as by many. Were this the case, there would be no need
of the care and attention of annual shortening and cutting off of
the branches, which I have stated to be the principle upon
which my system rests; nay, further, it would set aside the
established opinions of physiological botanists regarding the
properties of the leaves in the elaboration of the proper juice of
the plant. Neither, were their assumption correct, would we
see those injurious effects result from sweeping prunings, as in
many cases practised, by which the trees remain almost sta-
tionary in their growth for a number of years afterwards.. But
that the assumption of these individuals is incorrect, at a very
early period of my practice I received experimental conviction.
In one instance, I pruned a number of trees in a hedge-row in
the common way, but a few of them were pruned much higher,
leaving only a small top of branches. ‘The trees were, in other
respects, similarly circumstanced as to luxuriance of growth.
And those which were most pruned not only at the time did not
keep pace in growth with the others, but, even at this distant
period, and it is now above twenty years since it took place,
these trees are still far inferior to the others. Examples of this
kind soon convinced me that extirpating many branches at once,
or leaving a small head, was equally ruinous to the proper growth
of timber.

I have already stated that the cutting off of the branches
should commence when the tree is about 15 ft. in height. ‘The
age of the tree at this height will depend upon the luxuriance

Cree’s System of Pruning forest Trees. 451

or stuntedness of its growth. But, supposing it then to have
twelve regular tiers of branches, or to be thirteen years old, it
is evident, that, for a number of years to come, by only taking
off one tier in a year, the part of the tree covered with branches
will be much greater than that part of the trunk which will be
cleared of branches. This will be more distinctly shown in the
following table. In it the statements are made at intervals
of four years, for the sake of brevity ; the growth of the tree,
too, for the sake of simplicity, is assumed to be the same in each
year, namely, 15in. ‘This, I am well aware, is much less than
the annual growth, especially of properly pruned trees; neither,
indeed, is the growth constant, but varies with the age of the
tree and other circumstances. ‘The assumption, therefore, here
made, is taken merely because it is a convenient one for illustrat-
ing the effects of this system of pruning.

& ae cies La 2 nm, 33 & S)

=. | #53 | 222 | £8_ | 82% | Sees.

SO | she | Sas | ae | G68 | BERS 2
e pee | Sch | Ss" | gBs | Seas
A ys es
At 15 ft. in height, and sup-| Feet Feet Feet

posing the tree to have 12

In the last line of the table it will be seen that, at thirty-
three years of age, at the assumed rate of growth, the tree will
be 40 ft. in height; it will have had in all thirty-two tiers of
branches, of which twelve are still remaining, and twenty re-
moved; and the height of the part of the stem cleared of
branches will be 25 ft., and of the part covered with branches
15 ft. It is a question of some importance, what proportion
the trunk ought to bear to the head, or the part covered with
branches, in a full-grown tree. Pontey’s proportion, as given in
the Woburn beech, is 50 ft. of trunk to 22 ft. of head. Sang
gives 50 to 25. ‘The proportion which I have found to be the
best, is the trunk to be about three fifths of the whole height,
and the head two fifths; that is, in a tree of the size in question,
45 ft. of trunk to 30 ft. of head.

The proportion which the head bears to the trunk in the
last line of the above table, is 25 ft. of trunk to 15 ft. of head.
But, in the example there given, the assumption is, that the tree

has then arrived only at 40 ft. in height. Climate, altitude,
Geé3

452 Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees.

situation, and soil operate very materially upon the growth of
trees; and these circumstances must be taken into account in
assuming the height to which the tree may be expected ulti-
mately to arrive. Where, therefore, it is expected that the tree
may arrive at a greater height than that given in the table, and
this will, in the majority of cases, be so, the annual pruning
should be occasionally omitted, but only for a single year at a
time, a considerable period before; so that, at the full growth of
the tree, the proportions of the trunk and head may be as stated
above.

This is the proportion which the head ought to bear to the
trunk in forest trees; but where trees are intended for orna-
ment or shelter, a different mode of pruning will require to be
adopted. For ornament, the object in general aimed at is to
have large heads, with long pendulous branches. In such cir-
cumstances, the tree may be pruned to the height of 5, 6, or
more feet, as may suit the taste of the individual. The mode of
pruning should be that of annually shortening and cutting off
the branches, as recommended for forest trees, until they are at
the height required. And to produce the conical form of the
branches on the head, if that is wished for, the long branches
ought to be shortened; and in those which are of the proper
length, but which are not required to be longer, the buds on the
extremities of the branches should be cut off. Where shelter
alone is wanted, in general the branches should only be shortened;
and this will be found in a very material degree to augment the
denseness of the branches. By this means, too, trees are enabled
to stand closer together without requiring to be thinned, and
the under branches also live longer. ‘Trees planted as sheep-
stells, as well as in woods and belts of plantations, are, by
this mode of shortening the branches, in a great measure pre-
vented from suffering by the destructive effects of heavy falls of
snow.

Trees of a considerable size and age, which have been pre-
viously neglected, may be greatly improved by the system which
I have laid down. But, after the shortenings have been per-
formed, a considerable period should be allowed to elapse
before the branches are to be cut off close to the stem. And
when this is done, especially in the case of large limbs, too
much care and attention cannot be observed. The branches
should always be cut off with a saw; and precaution should be
taken never to allow the branch to be split off by its own
weight, or to injure in any other manner the main stem.
Where this may be anticipated, and the branch cannot be
propped up during amputation to prevent it, the branch should
be removed at two operations: first, by being cut off about 12
or 18 inches from the main stem; and, finally, by being cut off

Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees. 453

close to the main stem, but so as not to injure the adjoining
bark. This additional trouble will be amply compensated for,
by the earlier and superior manner in which the wound will be
cicatrised.

Though the remarks which I have made regarding shorten-
ing and cutting off the branches are intended to have reference
in particular to deciduous and non-resinous trees, I am very far
from thinking that resinous trees are not benefited by judicious
pruning. The question of the propriety of pruning resinous
trees has, I am aware, been very much agitated, and great
diversity of opinion has existed, and does exist, on this point.
But it must be evident, that, if clean straight timber, free from
knots, be wanted, where branches exist, they must be removed,
to prevent knots from being formed. Perhaps our best plan-
tations of resinous trees prune themselves; and it has often
appeared to me to be an injudicious assortment of trees, to
Intermix pines with hardwood, unless it be for nurses, to be
afterwards removed. Pines, thickly planted by themselves (the
Scotch pine, for example), are found to produce the cleanest
timber, of the most rapid growth, and frequently without any
pruning. But still there are many cases, such as in that of
isolated trees, and especially when they are planted along with
hardwood, where resinous trees produce large branches. Now
these, in the case of the Scotch fir and larch in particular, ought
to be removed, provided it can be done judiciously, so as not to
injure the growth of the tree. By shortening and cutting off the
branches in a careful manner, as recommended for deciduous
trees, the object will be attained so as to injure the tree in the
least possible degree.

In cutting off the branches of all kinds of trees, I wish it to
be distinctly understood, that I mean them to be cut off as close
to the stem as possible. But there is a little swell at the junc-
tion of the branch with the stem which must not be cut off, by
which the wound is not half the size that it would otherwise be.
And no wound should be polished up to the circular form of
the main stem, as such a process only enlarges the wound, and
hence it requires a much longer period before it is healed over.
Where the saw is used, the part, and particularly the bark,
should be cut clean over.

Authors differ much regarding the mode of cutting off the
branches. By some it has been recommended to leave snags in
pruning; that is, to leave a few inches between the stem and the
part at which the branch is cut off. ‘This I conceive to be a bad
system. Even granting that trees suffer much by bleeding, as it
is called, especially resinous trees, when cut close to the stem,
still that bleeding will soon be prevented by the wound being

cicatrised. Now, there are two evils attending the practice of
GG 4

454 Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees.

leaving snags. In the elm, Scotch fir, and many other trees of
Pereilerable size, an effort is made by the tree to cover over the
snag long before the annual growth of the wood arrives at this
magnitude ; the consequence “of which i is, that a large knot in the
wood is formed, thus defeating one of the principal objects which
it is the province of pruning “to accomplish. But another evil
consequent upon this practice, where no effort is made by the tree
to cover it until the annual increase of the alburnum circles shall
have done so, is, that the snag, in resinous trees in particular, is
always liable to bleed until it 5 cicatrised ; or, where the snag has
lost its vitality, it soon becomes liable to ran From this latter
circumstance, the danger is apparent of often finding large trees
when cut down, though apparently sound on the outside, rotted
in the interior. Such is frequently the case with snags even in
middle-sized trees. When large branches, too, are amputated
from old trees, before the growth of the tree can cover the part
it has become rotted; and, by exposure to the atmosphere,
moisture is carried down the pith of the tree, which commences
the work of decomposition, spreading to the adjoining parts of
the wood.

Thus, I think, I have shown that the system of leaving snags
is a bad one. And I may add that I have pruned, or seen
pruned, almost all kinds of trees both with and without snags ;
but I invariably found that those which were pruned close to
the stem healed soonest over, and altogether gave the greatest
satisfaction.

Some have recommended not to prune the pine tribe till the
branches have become dead. From what I have stated regard-
ing the impropriety of leaving snags, and the danger attending
it when there is no vitality in the part, it will at once be in-
ferred, that I recommend all branches to be removed before
they are dead. But where dead branches are found to exist on
any kind of tree, they cannot be too soon removed; and, for this
reason, even fir plantations, which, when thick, are generally
self-pruned, would be greatly benefited by the interference of
the pruner.

With regard to the proper season for shortening and cutting
off the branches, I conceive, that after the fall of the leaf in
autumn is the best period for shortening the branches, except
the gean, which should be shortened in August or September.
I have made many experiments in order to ascertain the proper
period for pruning or-cutting off the branches. I have per-
formed it in March, May, June, July, and other periods of
summer, and in autumn; but I always found that the earlier
in spring the pruning was performed, the part was the sooner
cicatrised, and the tree did so much the better afterwards.
This I found to be the best period for trees in general. But

Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees. 455

the sycamore and birch should be pruned in January, the Scotch
fir in September or October, and the larch may be divested of
its decayed branches at any period when it can be done with a
blunt instrument.

From the limits to which this essay is necessarily prescribed,
I have been able only to give a rapid, and, I am therefore afraid,
a somewhat imperfect outline of my system. To have done
complete justice to the subject, a particular account ought to
have been given of the manner of pruning trees, under their dif-
ferent modifications, as influenced by climate, soil, situation, and
the like; and not only every species, but almost every variety of
tree, ought to be brought under particular notice. In a gene-
ralised account such as this, therefore, and, indeed, in almost
every case of pruning, a certain latitude, exercised in a judicious
manner, must be taken by the pruner, so as fully to reap the
benefit of the system under any particular situation or circum-
stance in which the woods may be placed.

To many, and to those in particular who may have paid little
attention to their woods, the scheme of management which I
have laid down may appear to be attended with too much trou-
ble and expense for them ever to muster courage to attempt
following it out. That it is attended both with trouble and
expense, I am at once ready to admit; but, for these to be ob-
jections of sufficient weight to set this system aside, it would be
necessary to show that the trouble and expense are not realised
by the superior value of the ultimate crop, a thing which cannot
be shown. Let us observe what expense attends the production
of many of the farmer’s common crops, and, in particular, what
additional trouble he must bestow on many of his drilled green
crops: but the practice in his case is a common one, and there-
fore it is not alarming; and, besides, the farmer knows well,
that the more care he bestows upon his crops, the surer is he of
a better return. Now, the case of woods is quite a parallel
one. Where they are improperly managed, or altogether ne-
elected, they will seldom afford a bare return, and often be at-
tended with a sheer loss: whereas, where they are properly
managed, they will not only repay the additional expense
bestowed upon them, but will, besides, realise to the proprietor
a handsome profit.

The history of the mode of pruning which I have endeavoured
above briefly to explain can be given in a few words. If I can
say that I was indebted to any person or writer, either directly
or indirectly, for the idea of my system, it was to the account
given by Lord Kames of the manner of pruning hedges, by
cutting off only a part of the lateral twigs. And, upon reflec-
tion, it appeared to me, that a principle of this kind, in some
shape or other, might be beneficially applied to the pruning of

456 Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees.

trees. After putting it to the test, however, I found that various
modifications upon such a principle, were necessary in the case
of trees; and it was from experiments made in a variety of
ways, and under different forms, and by carefully marking the
results, that I at last arrived at the mode of pruning as above
described.

A number of years ago I explained to Sir Henry Steuart of
Allanton this system of pruning. At that time I pruned several
trees at Allanton; and in two different years since I have pruned
and repruned several more trees as examples of the system. The
baronet expressed to me at the time a very favourable opinion
regarding it, and has since been pleased to publish his sentiments
upon it in his Planter’s Guide. As the paragraph explains the
views which I then held regarding the history of the system, I
shall here take the liberty of quoting it.

** There is a meritorious nurseryman in this kingdom,” says
Sir Henry (Planter’s Guide, 2d ed., p. 448.), ‘to whom I was,
some time since, indebted for the knowledge of this system, and
who has practised it, as he states to me, for nearly thirty years,
without having borrowed it from any one. It was first sug-
gested to him, as it appears, by his own reflection, and has since
been confirmed by considerable experience, and most uniform
success. He was surprised when I informed him that the
principle was known, and acted on, in some parts of England,
with great effect. ‘This person, who is not less unassuming
than he is ingenious, is possessed of valuable materials for a
treatise on the subject; by which, besides laying down specific
rules for the art, under different circumstances, directions might
be given for raising and managing plantations under this system.
According to the author’s opinion, the pruning should be prac-
tised as early as the third year after the plantations are made,
and be continued till the eighteenth or twentieth. He has
likewise constructed tables, showing the numbers and distances
according to which the trees should be planted on an acre of
ground, and the comparative results of the ordinary, and of the
terminal method. In the present low state of our arboricultural
knowledge, I am of opinion, that a present more acceptable than
such a treatise could not be made to the British public.”

I was totally ignorant at the time when I explained to Sir
Henry Steuart my method, that the system, in any of its forms,
was known elsewhere; but, from the conversation which then
took place, I was afterwards induced to make research into the
matter, to see whether the system which I had formed and
adopted was already actually in practice. The only authors
that have come under my research, who have treated of shorten-
ing the branches, are Mr. Blaikie and Mr. Billington ; but neither
of them accords in the details with my method. I may remark,

Cree’s System of Pruning Forest Trees. A57

however, that Mr. Billington’s work contains many valuable
remarks on shortening the branches, and divesting them of the
buds at the extremities of branches; and, besides, it is really a
work of a practical description, evidently drawn from facts and
observations by a practical man. A somewhat similar practice
of pruning, by shortening the branches, is, I observe by a para-
graph in the last number of this Journal [Quarterly Journal of
Agriculture], practised in France.

The practice of shortening the branches in pruning has now,
it would appear, gained some degree of celebrity. And it has
already got a pretty fair share of names, all indicative, more
or less, of the nature of the subject; such as “cutting in,”
‘shortening the branches,” ‘‘terminal pruning,” and others, to
which I feel disposed to add what I conceive to be the proper
name of my system, “concentrate pruning.” It seems there has
also been some wrangling about the right to claim the invention.
Since the bantling has passed the critical months of infancy, and
turns out to be a promising child, it bids fair for being legiti-
mated; nay, of obtaining a plurality of paternity, a circumstance
not very common in the animal kingdom at least. But it is a
thing possible, as has been found in circumstances of a similar
nature with the case in question, that bantlings of the same
class, and differing only, perhaps, in a few shades of lineament,
might be produced nearly at the same time in France, in Eng-
land, and in Scotland. Granting this to be the case, however,
there might still arise a question of some nicety to determine,
whether each country may be entitled to claim one for itself, or,
if not, which was the first-born one, to claim the legal title of
supremacy.

I have not the vanity nor the ambition to aim at a name, as
the founder of any particular system; neither does my fort lie
in polemical writing. My business in life has been, not to work
out elaborate systems by the pen, but to work by manual labour
the actual operations of pruning itself; and the system, such as
it is, had only been communicated to a few friends, and was long
confined chiefly within the circles in which the operations them-
selves were performed. Of late years, however, my system has
become known through a considerable number of the central
counties of Scotland ; and, in the year 1823, the thanks of the
Directors of the Highland Society were conveyed to me for a
paper which I transmitted to them on the subject of pruning.
But, besides these, were it a point of any importance to be
established, I could show trees which have been pruned in the
way I have mentioned, regularly, during a period of upwards of
fifteen years; though many more than I could at the moment
claim have been pruned, on the same principle, for a period of
nearly thirty years.

458 On the Application of Natural Principles

Art. VII. Copy of a Letter addressed to Sir Charles Gordon,
Secretary to the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland.
By Gavin CREE.

I oBSERVE a notice of an essay read by John Boswell, Esq., of
Balmuto, at the dinner of the Committee of the Highland and
Agricultural Society, met at Aberdeen, 1840, recommending
the application of science to agricultural improvements more
extensively than has hitherto been thought of, which proposal
was approved of by Sir F. Mackenzie, Bart., who, at the same
time, suggested that a farm should be submitted to the public
on which experimentalists might put forth their skill and
science, a proposition equally rational as the establishing of
experimental gardens or other scientific institutions.

In the improvements of this farm, there is a department,
among others, which ought, I think, to be attended to, namely,
the scientific cultivation of trees for timber and shelter. The
Society may think that they have done enough already for the
advancement of this branch of cultivation; but after all that has
been done, arboriculture, in my opinion, has never been con-
ducted, to any great extent, with scientific skill.

The abstract from the Society’s Transactions of 1820, on the
management of woods and plantations, only displayed igno-
rance in the writer of that date on the subject of pruning
forest trees. The Society’s committee awarded prizes to four
different persons for essays on the pruning of forest trees
in 1836. The committee who decided the merits of these
neither claimed nor expected any reference to vegetable ana-
tomy in illustration of the different systems; in my opinion, an
improper neglect, as the system of pruning which is best must
be founded on the principles of vegetable physiology. The
late Sir Walter Scott, Bart., gave his opinion in the Quarterly
Review, 1830; and in the Edinburgh Literary Journal, 1830, the
following remarks occur, attributed to the late Sir H. Steuart,
Bart., which glaringly exhibit the inconsistency of those who
follow out their methods without any natural principles to direct
them. ‘To reason with such men is vain. ‘Their confidence
and self-sufficiency are in the ratio of their ignorance; guided
by such counsellors, however, they oftentimes succeed in mis-
leading others, and in retarding the advancement of that
knowledge that has made Boutcher, Marshall, and -Nicol, all
meritorious writers, appear unsatisfactory, Hanbury useless,
and Pontey ridiculous, and has rendered the pruning system
of the last mentioned so ruinous to the woods of England.
It is the same want that makes Billington and Cruickshanks,

in the Cultivation of Forest Trees. 459

two of our most practical men, sometimes write nonsense, and
Withers always. In a word, it is this want of indispensable
scientific information that has kept arboriculture, in all its
branches, down to the low rank of a mechanical art. I should
earnestly advise our planters and writers on planting to unite
their best efforts in bringing about a new era in this neglected
art. ‘They should endeavour, at length, to learn that a tree is
not, as many suppose, an inanimate Bipccanee. but a living being
like themselves; that in its constituent parts it possesses the
same chemical principles as they do, though with different pro-
perties and under different laws of organisation.

Without reviewing the prize essays, it may be stated that
both Mr. Grigor’s and Mr. Gorrie’s are inconsistent in practice,
and destructive to the healthy growth of trees. _

The proportions of the stem to the top of the trees are
more inconsistent than Pontey’s; his is 50 ft. to 22 ft., theirs is
50 ft. to 25 ft., and Gorrie’s, 50 ft. to 16 ft. 8 in. the top of the
tree. ‘The thinning out of the branches in the top of the tree
is injudicious in practice. Such pruning close to the stem,
when the diameter is not one inch, carries disease into the
pith, and in the course of a few years the trees are decayed in
the centre, which may be completely avoided by shortening the
branches till the trees are about 18 ft. in height, and, when allose
pruning takes place, about 15 in. in circumference. The system
of said essays puts science at complete defiance.

The most consistent system, whether it will be found agree-
able to science, will be found in accordance with reason, that all
trees should have heads conformable to the length of the trunk,
and conical longer than spreading heads; and to show the cor-
rectness of my statements, I shall make a few extracts from
Professor Lindley’s Introduction to Botany, 1839, p.382. ‘ We
see in practice the more plants are exposed to light, when grow-
ing naturally, the deeper is their green, the more robust their
appearance, and the greater the abundance of their odours or
resins ; and we know that all the products to which these ap-
pearances are owing are highly carbonised. On the contrary,
the less a plant is exposed to the sun’s light, the less its lustre,
the fainter its smell, and the less its flavour.

“The fixing of carbon by the action of light contributes in an
eminent degree to the quality of timber, a point of no small im-
portance to all countries. It is, in a great degree, to the carbon
incorporated with the tissue, either in its own proper form, or as
resinous or astringent matter, that the different quality in the
timber of the same species of treeis principally owing. Isolated oak
trees, fully exposed to the influence of light, form a tougher and
amore durable timber than the same species growing in dense

460 Cultivation of Forest Trees.

forests ; in the former case, its tissue is solidified by the greater
quantity of carbon fixed in the system during its growth.”

P. 560. “ Mr. Rigg has investigated the connexion between
nitrogen and plants. He finds the youngest parts of plants
richest in nitrogen. Alburnum he finds to contain more nitrogen
than duramen (or heart wood), and fast-growing timber more
than slow-growing. He states that his enquiries all tend to
prove that nitrogen is evolved during the healthy performance
of the functions of plants, and that the atmosphere is the source
from which they derive that element. The proportion which it
bears to the oxygen given off is influenced by the sun’s rays. The
difference which he finds in the growth of plants in the shade and
sunshine are due in a great measure to the influence of nitrogen.”

Penny Cyclopedia, vol. ii. p. 121. “'Trees crowded together in
plantations suffer more from the deficiency of carbonic acid and
oxygen, both of which are required for respiration, than deficient
nutriment by the roots; a fact of which proprietors and managers
of timber plantations are either not aware, or at least they
neglect the practice to which it should lead.

‘¢ By the respiration of plants and trees the carbonic acid gas
is withdrawn, and an equivalent of oxygen substituted. By the
mutual action of the members of the animal and vegetable king-
doms, the balance of the constituent elements of the atmosphere
is maintained.”

From the extracts above given it is evident that some advan-
tage may be made of science in this neglected art.

I beg the Society’s further attention to a few remarks. Mr.
Grigor, who received the Society’s prize, states that pruning
will not ultimately increase the bulk and weight of timber;
whereas Professor Lindley shows that the more succulent or
younger parts of plants attract the more nourishment from the
atmosphere. In trees pruned by shortening the branches, the
whole tree is covered with healthy leaves often three times the
size of the adjoining unpruned trees; by which management
growths of feet instead of inches will be made. In trees clothed
with a healthy foliage by shortening the branches, the ascending
sap is so augmented, both in quality and quantity, that it keeps
the trees free of mosses. ‘The same takes place in the animal
creation; when unhealthy they are infested with vermin, &c.

I shall conclude by suggesting to the attention of the Society
to follow out the principles inculcated in the remarks and ex-
tracts. In the mean time it would be of incalculable advantage,
should any member or members place at the disposal of the So-
ciety a part of their plantations, containing trees at least six feet
in height, to be treated under each system for one, two, or three
years.

The sanction of the Highland and Agricultural Society would

Culture of the Gladiolus cardindlis. 461

render the project of more national importance, and their de-

cision of the merits of the different systems would produce greater

benefit than could result from the exertions or patronage of any

single individual however high. It is, therefore, of more import-

ance that the Society should bring the trial before the public.
Biggar, April, 1841.

Art. VIII. On the Culture of the Gladtolus cardindlis.
By A. MAcKENZIE.

As so very little of the Gladiolus cardinalis is to be seen growing
in the flower-gardens, or even greenhouses, of this country, I
am induced to send you my mode of cultivating this splendid
flower. What flower can surpass the brilliancy of the G. cardi-
nalis when grown in luxuriance? Here, like the sun in the
planetary system, it is the centre of attraction; for, in a space
of about 12 ft. by 7 ft., there are no less than 500 trusses of
this magnificent flower, exciting the admiration of all visiters. |
The simplicity of its culture enhances its value. It is generally
considered tender ; yet it grows here on an elevation of about
900 ft. above the level of the sea, the subsoil naturally cold and
wet, in rather a light soil, with little or no protection. For two
winters I gave a covering of leaf-mould, about 2 in. deep; but
the last two winters they got none whatever, and the result is,
that they were never seen growing here in such luxuriance and
splendour.

About the beginning of October, when I wish to propagate
them, I take from well-established plants a ball or cluster of
corms, about 14 or 2 feet in circumference, from one side of the
strongest plants, and plant them in beds 2 ft. wide, and the
plants 1 ft. apart, putting a little sand beneath the bulbs; and
in the course of two or three years the beds will be covered
with the plants. I plant them about 2 or 3 inches deep. In
1839, I planted a bed in this manner, and with as little care as I
would take in planting any herbaceous plant, and have given no
protection ever since; yet, in both seasons, namely, 1840 and
1841, the bed has been nearly covered with strong trusses of
flowers.

Last spring I separated a large ball of corms, and planted
them out singly; and, this summer, only two flowers have made
their appearance. I intend to let them remain all winter with-
out any covering. I will give you an account of this experiment
in the course of one or two years. My object in planting them
out singly is to try how they will prosper when so planted. [
would recommend that single bulbs be grown in pots, and pro-
tected during winter (especially from damp), until they grow
into a cluster of bulbs. When they have attained a sufficient

462 Propagation of the Rhododéndron déuricum,

size, they may be planted out with safety, and will stand the
winter.

This plant, when forced, is well adapted for supplying the
greenhouse, in the beginning of summer, with its brilliant flowers.
In the month of October, I take 8- or 12-sized pots, and fill each
with as large a ball of the strongest plants as the pots will admit;
protecting them till they are required for forcing. ‘This I do
every year, and have from six to twelve trusses of flowers in
each pot.

Blair-Adam Gardens, Aug. 7. 1841.

Art. IX. On the Propagation of the Rhododéndron dairicum, and
other Species of the same natural Family, by Cuttings. By 8.O.

A Goop many years since, the attention of the noble proprietor
of one of the finest garden establishments in Scotland was at-
tracted by the beauty of the precocious blossoms of the profuse-
flowering #hododéndron dauricum: a mandate was forthwith
transmitted to the gardener, to have the plant increased by all
possible means. ‘The fertile mind of this eminent cultivator and
excellent man was rich in expedients. ‘The comparatively slow,
and, in many instances, uncertain, process of propagation by
layers, appeared very unlikely to meet the wishes of his em-
ployer; the more expeditious practice of cuttings presented
itself, as more likely to answer the desired end.

At the proper season cutting-pots were prepared, and I, as
foreman of the plant department, filled them with cuttings, under
the directions of my superior; and afterwards watched their
progress with a considerable degree of interest. Success was
complete beyond expectation ; out of several hundred cuttings
there was scarcely a failure. ‘The rooted plants remained in the
cutting-pots during the winter, and were potted off the following
spring; towards the close of the year they were fine healthy
plants, the greater part standing 6 in. from the surface of the
pots. At that time the idea struck me, that the practice might
be extended with advantage to other species of the same and
allied genera. Shortly after putting in cuttings of the same
plant the second year, I went to take charge of a gentleman’s
garden ina distant part of the country. Amidst a multiplicity
of other pursuits, the propagation of the Rhododéndron dau-
ricum was lost sight of for several years. Leisure returned, and
with it the desire to prosecute what I had seen so successfully
begun. Cuttings of the Rhododéndron datricum, R. dauricum
atrovirens, #. hirsutum, £2. ferrugineum, and a number of the
slender-growing azaleas were tried, almost all with the same
degree of success. ‘The &. ferrugineum takes a longer time to

and other Species, by Cuttings. 463

root than any of the others, but seems equally sure. So con-
vinced am I of the superiority of this mode, in point of time, at
least, of extending individual species and varieties, over others
usually practised, that I would strongly recommend it to the
consideration of nurserymen, and others extensively engaged in
the culture of those different plants. It is superior to layers; in
so far that ten good plants may, perhaps, be gained by the
former method, for one by the latter, and in about one half the
time. It it superior to inarching or grafting, unless for par-
ticular purposes ; in so far that a plant on its own root is always
better than a plant growing on the root of another species. It
Is superior to raising seedlings, even if seeds can be obtained ; in
so far that stronger plants can be raised from cuttings in one
year than by seeds in four: that plants from cuttings are consti-
tutionally inferior to seedlings, is a question yet to be decided by
the vegetable physiologist.

I have numberless Rhododéndron and Azalea seedlings of
various species, which have scarcely risen from the surface of
the pans; at the same time I have plants raised from cuttings of
the A. datricum and AR. dauricum atrovirens, little more than
twelve months from the parent plant, from 3 in. to 8 in. in height,
and with from two to six shoots of various lengths. ‘The pots
are quite filled with roots, and the plants may now with safety
be planted in the open ground. I beg it to be understood, that
reference is only made to the slender-growing species and va-
rieties of both genera. I have never tried the larger-growing
kinds, nor yet do I think they could be rooted with equal con-
venience and facility.

The following is a summary of the practice invariably pursued ;
and the result was always so satisfactory, that it was never found
necessary to change it. About the middle, or towards the latter
end of July, the summer shoots of the plants above named begin
to ripen; at this time the cuttings must be taken. If taken
earlier, they almost always damp; if delayed until the shoots be-
come hard, the process of rooting is extremely slow, if roots are
ever protruded. _ The terminal shoots of the branches are
generally rejected, as being too long and unmanageable; the
side shoots of about 2 in. in length are preferred. ‘The pots are
prepared in the usual manner, as for heath cuttings: that is,
they are nearly half-filled with drainage of broken pots, over
which is placed a small portion of the fibrous part of peat earth;
the remaining part of the pot is half-filled with finely sifted peat,
mixed with about one third of white sand; and on the top, sand
of finely pounded white freestone, firmly pressed down; the pot
is then watered, the cuttings are prepared and inserted about an
inch into the sand. The pot is watered a second time, to settle
the sand about the cuttings. When the leaves are dry, they are

1841.— 1X. 3d Ser. HH

464 Remarkable old Pear Trees at Dunimarle.

covered with a bell-glass, and placed in a house with a tempera-
ture of from 60° to 70°. The after-management of the cuttings
is merely to keep them moist by watering round the outside of
the bell-glass, or by introducing the spout of a very small water-
ing-pan amongst the cuttings, so as not to wet their leaves, and
to shade them from the direct rays of the sun. ‘The shade
ought to be placed over them about nine in the morning, and
removed by four in the afternoon. In cloudy days no shade is
necessary. I never found it requisite, as in the case of more
tender cuttings, to wipe the moisture from the inside of the bell-
glass, although I believe it might be beneficial.

The cuttings may be expected to strike in about three months
or more, according to the state of the wood at the time when
they were put in; but the swelling of the terminal and axillary
buds is a sure index to the rooting of the plants. At this
period they are to be removed from the heat, and placed on a
shelf in the greenhouse; and at the same time air must be ad-
mitted, by placing a small piece of broken pot under the edge of
the bell-glass, afterwards removing it altogether. In the spring
of the following year, when the plants show a disposition to
grow, they are to be transplanted into separate pots, and kept ina
cold-frame, rather close than otherwise, during the summer.
Towards the close of the season, or in the spring of another
year, they may be planted in the open ground.

August 16. 1841.

Art. X. An Account of some remarkable old Pear Trees at Duni-
marle, Culross, Perthshire. By JAsprR WALLACE, Gardener there.

AccoRDING to your request, I send you a short notice of the
pear trees in the orchard here. From the accounts given of
them I find that they are 240 years old, having been planted in
the year 1600. A few of them are 6 ft. in girt at where they
branch off, the heads of some covering from four to five falls of
ground, and the general height of the trees being from 25 to 30 ft.
The situation, as you would have observed when you called
here, is close by the sea; so much so, that, when the tide is ac-
companied with high winds, the spray frequently comes over the
wall. In the lower part of the orchard, where the soil is a
common black earth, but rather thin and very much intermixed
with a hard sort of freestone, the trees are fast going to decay.
In the upper part, again, the soil is much deeper, consisting of
what is known among gardeners as brown loam; and here the
trees are still comparatively healthy, and nearly every alternate
year bear a considerable quantity of fruit. ‘The lady who is
proprietress of this place wishes to have part of the orchard
planted with young trees: now, I am of opinion that they would
do no good without the soil being in some manner renewed ; and,

Culture of the Gooseberry and Raspberry. | 465

as bringing fresh soil from the fields would be rather expensive,
how would it do to trench down the turf, and allow it to lie for
two years, laying nearly all the soil that would be above the turf
up in steep ridges, in the same manner as we do the stiff soil in
the kitchen-garden in winter, adding lime and manure at the
same time? Having the soil thus exposed both to the winter’s
frost and the summer’s sun, and then turning up the bottom again
after the turf had been completely decomposed, would certainly
very much invigorate the soil. Perhaps some of your intelligent
correspondents will favour me with their opinion on the subject.
Dunimarle Gardens, Aug. 9. 1841.

Art. XI. Observations on the Culture of the Gooseberry and Rasp-
berry. By A. MACKENZIE.

Mucu has been written on the cultivation of that excellent fruit
the gooseberry, and also about the prevention and destruction
of the caterpillar that infests it, an account of which will be
found in many of the horticultural works of the present day.
The following remarks are founded on the experience and
observation of many years; they may appear simple, but I have
no doubt will be found beneficial to many of your readers.

The bushes in this garden are quite healthy, and bear abundant
crops, and the fruit for size and flavour can seldom be equalled ;
while those in the surrounding gardens have been nearly all
destroyed for several years back by the caterpillar, though here
not one was to be found. My plan is as follows. Having selected
a plot or brake or any quantity of ground I think proper for
planting gooseberries in, I dung and dig it in the usual way,
and plant in rows 6 ft. wide, and 5 ft. between each plant.
Afterwards I neither dig, dung, nor manure them in any way
whatever, but just hoe and rake during summer to keep them
clean. My currants and raspberries I treat in the same manner,
and all have the same healthy appearance, and bear abundant
crops of large and highly flavoured fruit. By covering with tan
or leaf mould, the ground is easily kept clean. ‘The above
method saves much labour both in digging and pruning, as the
bushes do not produce so much wood.

Blair-Adam Gardens, Aug. 1841.

Art. XII. On the Effects of Water on the Growth and Ripening of
Melons. By J. WiGHTON.

Ir is a very common practice to plant melons in very strong
soil, indeed tenacious clay, and afterwards give little or no water
HH 2

466 Effects of Water on the Growth of Melons.

to them, by which much injury is done; the cohesive soil getting
so dry, as to crack and injure the plants by breaking many of
their principal roots. The surrounding air being dry also, en-
courages the red spider; and, before the fruit is ripe, there is
often nothing but leafless shoots. What I have just stated may
be considered the greatest cause why melons are often badly
ripened ; and, this being the case, the question is, How comes
such a plan to be in common practice? Three reasons may be
assigned: Ist, The damp affects the plants; 2d, Moisture
tends to burst the fruit before ripe; 3d, Water injures the
flavour of the fruit.

With regard to the first, it is a mistaken notion that melon
plants do not require plenty of water ; indeed, so much so, that
it is a question with me, if they would not grow in wet ditches
in warm countries; and, if so, it may be asked, How come they
to be affected by damp in hotbeds? It ought to be borne in
mind, that there is a great difference betwixt plants growing in
the open air and those confined under glass, where often the
noxious vapours cannot escape. ‘The green-flesh varieties of
melons are considered most apt to be affected by damp; and
the reason is, they are more hairy than other kinds, and of course
retain more wet. Yet, although this be the case, they, like the
others, require plenty of water; and there need be no fear of
any bad effects from it, provided plenty of air is admitted, to let
the exhaling vapours escape from the plants. In dull weather
more attention must be paid to this, and less water given.

These remarks also apply to the notion why melons often
crack before they ripen, being the second reason given for with-
holding water from them. ‘The belief that melons burst from
too great supplies from the roots is evidently erroneous, because
this result in general happens in damp weather; and, although
the fruit be almost severed from the plants to check the supplies
from the roots, as long as the air holds damp, such severance in
no way prevents the cracks from extending. The bursting of all
kinds of fruit invariably proceeds from external moisture; let
the supplies from the roots be ever so great, the extension of the
fruit is proportionate.

In making these remarks I am well aware that much water
supplied either way is injurious to fruit when ripening, and this
leads to the third cause stated why it is withdrawn from melons
at that time. But there is a medium in all things; the plants
ought to have sufficient supplies of water to encourage their
growth, and also to check that pest, the red spider. It is not
unusual to see melon beds, at the time alluded to, like an ash-
heap, and the fruit ripening, if it may be so called, on shoots
leafless from the ravages of the insect just mentioned. Melons
treated in this manner, however good the kinds may be, will

Festuca ovina, Festuca rubra, and Bromus praténsis. 467

have little or no flavour, perhaps not equal to that of a good
turnip.

I may here mention that I have tried various plans, held by
some as sure remedies, to destroy the red spider, but found none
equal to the old one, namely, plenty of moisture. By the by,
some will have the insect in question to be a mite and not a
spider at all; this may be, but it will always be more than a mite
in a gardener’s eye. ‘To his cost, the insect, like the mite, is
prolific, but luckily, like a spider, forms a web that retains
moisture injurious to the young progeny; otherwise sprinkling
would be of little or no avail, and the havoc done by an insect to
appearance a mite great indeed.

Cossey Hall Gardens, near Norwich, June 26. 1841.

Art. XIII. Notice on Festica ovina L., Festica ribra V., and
Bromus praténsis L., as Pasture Plants. By M. Vitmorin.

Amongst the things which you must have been interested in
seeing here, if you had been able to accomplish what you in-
tended doing, there is one on which I promised you some notes,
viz. the cultivation, on a large scale, of certain grasses for pasture
and seed. You will have, perhaps, thought that I had forgotten
this promise, but that is not the case; I have always had it in
view, but being continually occupied in experimental cultivation
of various kinds, I do scarcely anything that I wish to do; I
hope, therefore, that you will excuse the delay of this commu-
nication.

Its object is to recommend three grasses for pasturage, viz.
meadow brome-grass (Sromus praténsis L., B. erectus Sznclazr),
sheep fescue (Festuca ovina L.), and creeping fescue (Festuca
rubra Z.). ‘These are plants of a very inferior quality, if we
compare them with the species which constitute the riches of
good hay fields: but nothing in nature is absolutely useless ; and
as pence are more serviceable to the poor than guineas to the
rich, these plants, of very little value in the eyes of a farmer of
good land, become a treasure to one who cultivates dry and
barren soils.

You will recollect, perhaps, that at the time I left you at Fon-
tainebleau, about twelve months ago, to come hither, the drought
had for a length of time been parching up several of the midland
provinces, and this one in particular. I had heard such lamen-
tations of the want of grass, and the impossibility of feeding the
cattle, that I expected to find my farm in the most deplorable
state. Fortunately this was not the case, as to the sheep par-
ticularly. The day after my arrival, on the first turn I took

HH 3

468 Festuca ovina, Festuca rubra,

in the fields, I fell in with the flock of sheep, and was much
astonished to find them in excellent condition, well fed, very
lively, with round backs and sides. But where did I find them?
In a field of meadow brome-grass and creeping fescue sown
in for seed, and which had been reaped a short time before.
The shepherd told me that, after the corn had been carried, he
had been allowed to put his sheep on these fields ; and that this
circumstance had saved his flock, which could not pick up a
subsistence elsewhere. You would really have been delighted
to see each animal following a row, and browsing with avidity
the green healthy leaves which carpeted the soil under the
stubble, which was cut 2 or 3 inches high. And what
would have struck you more is, that these rows of verdure were
growing on the side of a calcareous hill, so stony that the
ground was scarcely seen among the fragments of rock which
covered it. The sheep preferred grazing on that half of the
piece of ground that was occupied by the brome. My shepherd
told me (what I already knew) that in summer they prefer this
grass to the Festtica; which they devour eagerly, on the contrary,
in winter and early spring.

Some days afterwards I went to visit my neighbour, M.
Deprey, proprietor of the farm of Buisson, which I sold to him
some years ago. I had formed some years before on the most
rocky parts of the estate, which is also all calcareous soil, several
pastures of brome and Festuca, one particularly of twelve acres,
sown with a mixture of the two sorts. I begged of him to pre-
serve these pastures, which he fortunately did. He told me
they had been an admirable resource to him; that while all the
sheep in the neighbouring farms were dying of hunger, not a
single day had passed in summer that his flock did not come
home full.

You saw, at Fontainebleau, the Festuca ovina used for laying
down in grass very poor sandy soil, but which was too cold for
it: it has but a poor effect there as turf, and its principal ad-
vantage is that of lasting for a number of years. You would
have admired it much more on our calcareous rocks, where it
forms a much thicker and closer carpet, of a dark green, and
which has besides the great merit of being useful, as you have
just seen.

_ Another valuable property of these two plants is their long
duration. M. Deprey’s pastures have been established twelve
or fourteen years; they are still very good and healthy. The
largest, which was originally thinly stocked, has increased from
year to year by sowing itself; for the sheep do not eat the flower-
stalks, but only the leaf of the plant, so that the seed ripens and
sows itself again. ‘The first portion of meadow grass which I
laid down on the calcareous soil is now eighteen years old; and

and Bromus praténsis, as Pasture Plants. 469

it is still good and tolerably healthy, though it has been reaped
for seed every year. It is on a soil not 3 in. deep, and has never
had any other manure than the stones, which are turned up from
time to time by the horse-hoe between the rows, to invigorate it
a little, and destroy the weeds which spring up, for they grow
freely on this soil, though it is so arid in appearance. There are
many bad or indifferent plants among them, such as Huphérbza
helioscopia, Onopordum Acanthium, Thymus Serpyllum, Muscari
comosum, &c.; and some good or tolerable, such as Scabidsa
arvénsis, Medicago falcata, Coronilla varia, Anthyllis Vulneraria,
Achilléa Millefolium, &c. *

On the argillaceous sands of which my property partly consists,
these two grasses succeed perfectly well. Ground that I had
laid down twenty years ago, and which I have since planted with
trees, is still completely matted with green between the rows of
trees. When these pastures are thus abandoned for several years
the Festuca assumes a very melancholy appearance; it becomes
a matting of extraordinary thickness, but one composed in a
great measure of dried leaves; for in this species the leaves
which die naturally remain for a long time on the stalk without
decaying, and the plant must be grazed or cut to keep it in a
green state. Grown thick and old, as I have just said, it con-
linues to vegetate, but ceases to grow high. ‘These masses of
dry and living leaves have often been a very great resource to
me as forage, particularly at the end of the winter 1840, when
the long continuance of a frosty and drying wind had destroyed
almost all the verdure, and suspended the spring vegetation
(that of the woad especially excepted). I then had this forage
of the old Festuca cut, and I found that the cows ate it tolerably
well, and that it contributed to their keep during this season of
scarcity. I have always thought that, notwithstanding its name,
the Festtica ovina was more grateful to cows than to sheep; as
every time that I pastured them on it, I found that they ate it
with remarkable avidity.+

* The natural flora of these calcareous soils is of extraordinary richness.
We find many plants which are never found on our sands, though the two sorts
of soil are only separated by a small valley which is often not more than ten
paces wide. Another remarkable fact is the variety of plants cultivated
which succeed very well on this land, though of species supposed to require
the richest soil ; thus, Indian corn, colza, Swedish turnip, poppies for oil, flax,
and woad (Jsatis tinctoria) which I cultivate on a large scale for fodder, suc-
ceed very well on the plain; which, though it has greater depth than the
rocky soil of which I have just been speaking, is exactly of the same nature.

+ It is the same, and in a more remarkable degree, with the Festuca tenui-
folia Sibth.; which, from a singular mistake, has for a long time been considered.
and cultivated as the true ovina: sheep do not eat it, while cows like it ex-
ceedingly. To the kindness of Professor Lindley, I am indebted for bemg
enabled to clear up the confusion that subsisted between these two species.

HH 4

470 Festuca ovina, Festuca rubra,-

Meadow brome-grass, also, when it is not renewed by pas-
turage, becomes mixed with dried leaves; however, it keeps
greener than the Festuca, and continues to grow high fora much
longer time.

Considered as grasses for laying down lawns, these two plants
are very inferior in appearance, and in beauty of verdure, to
the rye grass (Lolium praténse), and other species used for this
purpose. The latter grasses ought, therefore, to be preferred in
the sort of soil and climate which suits them; but if it is intended
to lay down a dry and arid soil, whether calcareous or sandy,
the Festuca and the brome-grass have a decided advantage, from
their long continuance, and the permanence of their verdure
during the droughts. In these two respects they are nearly
equal, but in others the Festuca is inferior to the brome. Its
colour, of a deep and dark green, is not pleasing; and, at the
same time, its dry and slippery leaf is uncomfortable to walk on.
These lawns, however, though generally of a dark dull green,
sometimes present remarkable effects and contrasts; and I do
not doubt, that, with your taste and talent for judging of and
reproducing the beautiful effects of nature, you will be able to
make a good use of the Festuca ovina in the laying out of a
country residence, or of a park scene.

As for the brome, its leaf is flat and soft; its colour, though
less lively and fresh than that of rye grass, is, however, a very
agreeable green; its shoots extend along the soil like the latter ;
in fact, it may be said that it is the rye grass of dry soils, and a
rye grass that will last twenty years, and perhaps more, if care
be taken of it.

But it is more particularly as useful plants that these two spe-.
cies are to be considered ; with their help, there is no soil, stone-
quarry, or dry sand, which could not be completely laid down
in turf, and transformed into a good pasture. ‘Those who have
experienced the difficulty of laying down with useful and durable
grasses soils of this nature will appreciate the value of plants
which so eminently possess this property. We have here a
fact which strikes us at first sight; it is, that a single acre
of our calcareous land, when covered with these plants, will
yield more nourishment to the sheep fed on it, than a very great
extent of the same ground left to its natural productions.

The third species, Festuca rubra, partakes of the nature of
the two others, by its roughness and its long duration. Like
the Festuca ovina, it grows naturally in our calcareous grounds,
but it is not vigorous, and the sheep scarcely eat it. On
our argillaceous sands, on the contrary, which are very moist
in winter and very dry in summer, it is very luxuriant in its
growth, and the sheep eat it readily. One of its peculiar features

and Bromus praténsis, as Pasture Plants. 47]

is, the facility with which it spreads and covers the ground round
it. It has happened two or three times that I have left as pastures
fields sown in rows which were beginning to grow old; from the
first year that the usual ploughing between the rows was left off,
the spaces were filled with plants produced by the shooting from
the roots, and the following year the rows were quite invisible
(although originally 2 ft. apart), and the whole was formed into
a complete mat. When the Festuca is thus allowed to mat
together completely, it does not grow high. This property,
added to its inclination to spread, renders it very fit for forming
_ lawns or pleasure-grounds ; the more:so, as it is of an agreeable
green. The leaf is, however, narrow and long, and grows upright
when the plant is vigorous: but these characters are much mo-
dified when it grows thick like a carpet, and particularly when it
is pastured; I have then seen it make a very pretty sward. The
principal disadvantage in making use of it for this purpose would
be the expense; for the flower stems are not numerous, and the
seed is very subject to be burnt up, which prevents it from being
abundant and cheap. It is true that, with patience, in a few years
a turf might be obtained very close and good, from a scanty
sowing of seed, such as would be too thin at first. The two
other species have also their defects; for what being under heaven
is without any? Thus, it costs more to sow than rye grass, which
proceeds principally from their limited use, which causes the
increase of the seed to remain limited in proportion; but, more
particularly, they are slow in their growth. When sown on a
very dry soil, it is only the second, or even the third, year that
the plants have attained their. full growth; this will not cause
astonishment, if we consider the length of time they last, which
compensates for having to wait so long. On good soil the case
is not the same, at least, as far as regards Bromus praténsis.
I have seen it carpet the soil almost as completely the first year
as rye grass would have done.

I have only spoken of these three plants as pasture grasses
and turf, uses in which I have been enabled to appreciate. their
qualities. We may also consider, not the /estuca ovina, the
stalks of which are too slender, but the creeping fescue and the
meadow brome, as plants suited for mowing; the latter par-
ticularly is abundant in certain upland meadows, where it con-
stitutes aconsiderable part of the hay. I will not undertake to
characterise them fully in this respect; the ideas I have of
their qualities and detects not being sufficiently complete or
positive to be presented with any degree of utility.

Barres, April 22. 1841.

472 Downing’s Landscape-Gardening,

REVIEWS.

Art. I. A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape-
Gardening, adapted to North America ; with a View to the Improve-
ment of Country Residences: comprising Historical Notices and
General Principles of the Art, Directions for laying out Grounds
and arranging Plantations, the Description and Cultivation of
Hardy Trees, Decorative Accompaniments to the House and
Grounds, the Formation of Pieces of Artificial Water, Flower-
Gardens, &c. With Remarks on Rural Architecture. By A. J.
Downing. 8vo, pp. 451, plates, and numerous woodcuts. New
York and London, 1841.

(Continued from p. 427.)

““<WueEreE the gardenesque style of imitating nature is to be employed, the
trees and herbaceous plants must be separated ; and instead of being grouped
together as in forest scenery, where two trees, or a tree and a shrub, often
appear to spring from the same root, every gardenesque group must consist of
trees which do not touch each other, and which only become groups by
being as near together as is practicable without touching, and by being
apart from large masses, or from single trees, or rows of trees. It is not
meant by this, that in the gardenesque, the trees composing a group should
all be equally distant from one another ; for in that case they would not form
a whole, which the word group always implies. On the contrary, though all
the trees in a gardenesque group ought to be so far separated from each other
as not to touch, yet the degrees of separation may be as different as the
designer chooses, provided the idea of a group is never lost sight of.

“¢ In laying out grounds, it is necessary always to bear in mind the difference
between the gardenesque and the picturesque, that is, between a plantation
made merely for picturesque effect, and another made for gardenesque effect.
In planting, thinning, and pruning, in order to produce the latter effect, the
beauty of every individual tree and shrub, as a single object, is to be taken
into consideration, as well as the beauty of the mass ; while in planting, thin-
ning, and pruning for picturesque effect, the beauty of individual trees or
shrubs is of little consequence, because no tree or shrub in a picturesque
plantation or scene should stand isolated —each should be considered as
merely forming part of a group or mass.

«When planted, the trees and shrubs should be scattered over the ground
in the most irregular manner, both in their disposition with reference to
their immediate effect as plants, and with reference to their future effect as
trees and shrubs. In some places trees should prevail, in others shrubs;
in some parts the plantation should be thick, in cthers thin; two or three
trees, or a tree and shrub, ought often to be planted together, and this more
especially on lawns over which trees and shrubs are to be scattered in the
picturesque manner.

““¢ Where, on the contrary, they are to be scattered in the gardenesque
manner, every tree and shrub should stand singly ; as in the geometrical manner
they should stand in regular lines, or in some geometrical figure. In the
gardenesque there may be single trees and single shrubs; but there can be no
such thing as a single tree in the picturesque. Every tree in the picturesque
style of laying out grounds must be grouped with something else, if it should
be merely a shrub, a twining plant, a tuft of grass, or other plants at its root.
Tn the gardenesque, the beauty of the isolated tree consists in the manner in
which it is grown ; in the picturesque, the beauty of a tree or shrub, as of every

adapted to North America. 473

other object in the landscape, consists in its fitness to group with other objects.
Now, the fitness of one object to group with another evidently does not con-
sist in the perfection of the form of that object, but rather in that imperfection
which requires another object to render it complete.’

“In this description of the gardenesque mode of imitating nature, we per-
ceive that the exhibition of a highly developed state of cultivation is the
predominant characteristic. The trees and shrubs are grown to the highest
possible perfection, and every angle is, as it were, rounded with a species of
elegant art. The object is, therefore, mainly to produce highly elegant and
polished forms.

“The gardenesque imitation, and what we have termed a simply beautiful
imitation of nature, may, at first sight, appear to be the same. But there is a
strongly marked difference. In an imitation of beautiful and of picturesque
nature, the expression of the whole scene is the object never to be lost sight
of. It is characterised no less by the form of the ground, and by the indivi-
dual character of the trees themselves, than by the mere arrangement of the
trees singly or in groups, and the cultivation to which they are afterwards
subjected. Thus, as we shall hereafter point out, the expression of the larch
is different from that of the willow, the oak from that of the elm, and so in
numerous other trees, both native and exotic. Now, the gardenesque mode
of imitation readily admits in the same scenes every species of tree, provided
it is planted separately, and afterwards grown in the manner required by that
mode, because it depends for its character mainly on the beauty of form as
developed by culture. But in beautiful or picturesque imitations of nature, a
predominance of such trees and other objects is requisite, as in themselves are
intrinsically expressive of either graceful beauty or picturesque beauty. The
art of culture, as in thinning, pruning, &c., is directed rather to heighten those
peculiar expressions, whether in the single tree or in the group, than to en-
deavour to produce luxuriance, or the beauty of culture.

* In the imitative scale, viewing the different modes of landscape-gardening
as works of art, fac-simile imitations of nature rank the lowest; nature in
them being imitated in her own forms and materials, in such a manner as to
produce none of the pleasure experienced in the contemplation of art. Next
to these we should place imitations in the geometric and in the gardenesque
manner, as these depend upon choice materials arranged in regular and sys-
tematic, or in elegant and artistical forms, for the admiration which they
elicit. And highest in the scale we rank picturesque and beautiful imitations
of nature, which join to fine forms, and elegance in arrangement, the higher
beauty of sentiment or expression.

“In practice, however, the entire new arrangement, or, in other words, the
creation of a landscape-garden on a large scale, will seldom be attempted in
this country. In a multitude of examples in the United States, the grounds
of places to be improved as country residences have already a considerable
degree of natural beauty, in scattered groups and thickets of trees, &c., for
the destruction of which no theory of art will apologise. The art of landscape-
gardening, in these instances, will be displayed in adding, to the natural beauties
already existing, all those graces and elegancies which are its characteristics.
Smoothing all harshnesses inconsistent with refined habitation, introducing
groups of rare and beautiful trees, shrubs, and plants, and heightening the
whole by a polish and keeping corresponding to the style and character of
the place and mansion, or the wealth and means of its occupant.

“ Besides these beauties of form and expression in the different modes of
laying out grounds, there are certain universal and inherent beauties common
to all the styles, and indeed to every composition in the fine arts. Of these
we shall especially point out those growing out of the principles of unrry
and VARIETY.

““ Unity, or the production of a whole, is a leading principle of the highest
importance in every art of taste or design, without which no satisfactory result
can be realised. This arises from the fact, that the mind can only attend with

474 Downing’ s Landscape- Gardening.

pleasure and satisfaction to one object, or one composite sensation at the same
time. If two distinct objects, or classes of objects, present themselves at once
to us, we can only attend satisfactorily to one, by withdrawing our attention
for the time from the other. Hence the necessity of a reference to this lead-
ing principle of unity.

“ To illustrate the subject, let us suppose a building, one half of which is
constructed of wood, with square windows, and the remaining half of brick
or stone, with long and narrow windows. However well such a building
may be constructed, or howeyer nicely the different proportions of the edi-
fice may be adjusted, it is evident it can never form a satisfactory whole. The
mind can only account for such an absurdity, by supposing it to have been
built by two individuals, or at two different times, as there is nothing indicat-
ing a unity of mind in its composition.

“In landscape-gardening, violations of the principle of unity are often to be
met with, and they are always indicative of the absence of correct taste in art.
Looking upon a landscape from the windows of a villa residence, we some-
times see a considerable portion of the view embraced by the eye laid out in
natural groups of trees and shrubs, and upon one side, or perhaps in the middle
of the same scene, a formal avenue leading directly up to the house. Such a
view can never appear as a satisfactory whole, because we experience a con-
fusion of sensations in contemplating it. There is an evident incongruity in
bringing two modes of arranging plantations so totally different under the
eye at one moment, which distracts, rather than pleases, the mind. In this
example, the avenue taken by itself may be a beautiful object, and the groups
and connected masses may, in themselves, be elegant, yet the two portions
will not form a whole when seen together, because they cannot form a com-
posite idea. For the same reason, there is something unpleasing in the in-
troduction of fruit trees among elegant ornamental trees on a lawn, or even
in assembling together in the same beds flowering plants and culinary vege-
tables. One class of vegetation suggesting the useful alone to the mind, and
the other only the elegant and ornamental —the two sensations not readily
uniting together.

“In the arrangement of a large extent of surface, where a great many
objects are necessarily presented to the eye at once, the principle of unity will
suggest that there should be some grand jor leading features to which the
others should be merely subordinate. Thus, in grouping trees, there should
be some large and striking masses, to which the others appear to belong, how-
ever distant, instead of scattered groups all of the same size. Even in arrang-
ing walks, a whole will more readily be recognised, if there are one or two of
large size with which the others appear connected as branches, than if they
were all equal in breadth, and presented the same appearance to the eye in
passing.

“Tn all works of art which command universal admiration, we discover a
unity of conception and composition, a unity of taste and execution. To
assemble in a single composition forms which are discordant, and portions
dissimilar in plan, can only afford pleasure, for a short time, to tasteless minds
or those fond of triffing and puerile conceits. The production of an accordant
whole is, on the contrary, capable of affording the most permanent enjoy-
ment to educated minds, every where, and at all periods of time.

“ After unity, the principle of vaRiETY is worthy of consideration, as a
fertile source of beauty in landscape-gardening. The former principle might
be carried so far by some minds as to produce monotony, as it may be so
totally neglected by others, as to lead to compositions only characterised by
discordant assemblages of objects. Variety must be considered as belonging
more to the details, than to the production of a whole. By producing certain
contrasts, it creates in scenery a thousand points of interest, and thus elicits
new beauties, by different arrangements and combinations of forms and colours,
lights and shades. Variety in plantations may be attained by a combination of
qualities opposite in some respects, as in the colour of the foliage, and similar

General Notices. 4°75

in others, as the form, which we shall hereafter more fully elucidate. In the
views from a dwelling, we produce it by contrasts not so powerful as to be
absolutely dissimilar, for this would defeat the purpose, and produce discord ;
but by retaining the unity of design, and varying partially only the materials
employed, as in the case of substituting elegant flowering shrubs and climbers,
in the place of trees, or, sometimes, by introducing new elements of beauty, as
sculptured vases, sun-dials, fountains, &c. In pleasure-grounds, while the
whole should exhibit wnty of conception and plan, the different scenes pre-
sented to the eye, one after the other, should possess sufficient variety in the
detail, to keep alive the interest of the spectator, and awaken further curiosity.

“In this brief abstract of the nature of imitation in landscape-gardening,
and the kinds of beauty which it is possible to produce by means of the art,
we have endeavoured to elucidate its leading principles clearly to the reader.
These grand principles we shall here succinctly recapitulate, premising that a
familiarity with them is of the very first importance in the successful practice
of this elegant art ; viz. 1. THe RecoGnition oF Arr, founded on the im-
mutability of the true as well as the beautiful: 2. Taz PropucTion oF a
WHOLE, springing from the necessity in the mind of a unity of sensation:
3. Tue ImiraTion oF THE BEAuTY OF Expression, derived from a refined
perception of the sentiment of nature: 4. THe PropuctTion oF VARIETY, in-
cluding under this term intricacy and harmony, founded on the ever active
desire for new objects of interest.

“Neither the professional landscape-gardener nor the amateur can hope
for much success in realising the nobler effects of the art, unless he first make
himself master of the natural character, or prevailing expression, of the place
to be improved. In this nice perception, at a glance, of the natural expres-
sion, as well as the capabilities, of a residence, lies the secret of the superior
results produced by the improver, who, to use the words of Horace Walpole,
‘is proud of no other art than that of softening nature’s harshness, and copy-
ing her graceful touch.’ When we discover the picturesque indicated in the
grounds of the residence to be treated, let us take advantage of it ; and, while
all harshness incompatible with scenery near the house is removed, the origi-
nal expression may, in most cases, be heightened, in all rendered more elegant
and appropriate, without lowering it in force or spirit. In like manner, good
taste will direct us to embellish scenery expressive of simple or natural beauty,
by the addition of forms, whether in trees, buildings, or other objects, harmo-
nious in character, as well as in colour and outline.”

We have quoted largely from this work, because, in so doing, we think we
shall give a just idea of the great merit of the author, instruct our readers
without doing him any injury, and give a very favourable idea of the progress
of taste among our Transatlantic brethren,

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

Art. I. General Notices.

To destroy Caterpillars.— A gardener at Glasgow practises a mode of de-
stroying caterpillars, which he discovered by accident. A piece of woollen
rag had been blown by the wind into a currant bush, and when taken out was
found covered by the leaf-devouring insects. He immediately placed pieces of
woollen cloth in every bush in his garden, and found next day that the cater-
pillars had universally taken to them for shelter. In this way he destroyed
many thousands every morning. (Annual Register, 1812, p. 46.) .

Wire-Worms.—The most effectual mode of destruction is that adopted by
Mr. Pearce of Pennare Goran, who, in 1838, having had three acres of wheat
completely destroyed by the wire-worm, followed with turnips, and finding

476 Foreign Notices : — North America.

his turnips also beginning to fail, he employed several women and children to
dig round the affected plants, and collect the worms. In this manner no less
than 23,900 were collected, which he paid for at 1d. and 14d. per hundred.
By this means he saved considerably more than half his turnips, and had an
excellent crop of barley afterwards. In an adjoining field a crop of wheat and
another of barley were similarly destroyed. From this field he collected
30,000 wire-worms. He calculates that land may thus be freed from the
wire-worms at from 5s. to 7s. per acre. This mode of wire-worm-collecting
has long been practised in the best cultivated Kentish hop-grounds. (Cam-
bridge Chronicle and Journal, July 31. 1841.)

Lime in Agriculture.— A very interesting paper was lately read before the
members of the Lyceum of Natural History in New York, by William Pat-
ridge, Esq., on the proper application of lime to agricultural purposes. Mr.
Patridge maintains that the common practice of burning lime before using it
on land is founded in error, and that the limestone ought to be ground instead
of burned. Mr. Patridge says that in burning the stone two materials essen-
tial to agricultural productiveness are driven off, namely, its water and carbonic
gas ; and he ascribes to this circumstance the fact, that during the first year
the good effects of lime are not observable. He adds that, as the lime returns
gradually to its former state of carbonated hydrate, its fertilising properties
are evolved. Mr. Patridge adduces some facts which seem strongly to favour
his theory. An experimental trial of the plan would be desirable in this
country. (Jdid,)

Art. II. Foreign Notices.

NORTH AMERICA.

SweEET and Sour Apple.—In addition to my notice of such fruit, in the
Gard. Mag., vol. vi. p. 596., I can state, on the authority of “ the Bay State
(Mass.) Democrat Newspaper,” that the editor had received, last autumn, a fine
apple from the orchard of Mrs. Byrant, of Marshfield, Massachusetts, one half
of which was sweet, and the other sour, and both very juicy and of fine flavour.
The flavour of each was distinctly marked, as was also the appearance of the
fruit, a ridge running directly over the apple ; the sour side is somewhat larger
than the sweet, and of a different colour. The editor of one of the news-
papers in Trenton, New Jersey, on the Delaware, a few years since, mentioned
that a tree bearing sweet and sour apples grew in its vicinity, but did not give
the name of the owner—J. MZ. Philadelphia, June 18. 1841.

To secure good Fruit, —Two of the best farmers within our knowledge, one
resident in Caos county, and the other in Orange county, have communicated
to the editor the manner in which they secure good fruit. It is this. They
dig at some distance from the body of a favourite tree, until they find a root,
which they cut off. The part disjoined is then turned up, so as to appear
above ground, and sends forth shoots the first season ; and bears in a few years
fruit precisely like that upon the parent tree. (New Hampshire Whig.)—J. M.
Philadelphia, March 1841.

Live Oak.— Waving heard of a very large live oak (Quércus virens) upon
the Island of St. Simon’s, on the coast of Georgia, I wrote to my ancient friend
John Cowper, Esq., P. M., long resident there, to procure its dimensions. They
were taken by his son, who is manager of the estate upon which it grows, and
are as follows: circumference, at 2 ft. from the ground, 25 ft. 2in.; at 5 ft.,
21 ft. ; at 10 ft., 22 ft.: length of trunk to first branch, 10 ft. ; circumference
of the first branch, 10 ft.; of the second, 12 ft. 5in. ; of the third, 11 ft. 7in.:
height of the tree, 70 ft.

Dimensions of a live oak tree at Cannon’s Point, St. Simon’s, the acorn of
which was planted by Mr. Cowper in the year 1803, and transplanted in 1805.
Circumference, at 2 ft. from the ground, 8 ft. 4in.; at 6ft., 7 ft. 3in, It then

Domestic Notices: — England, Scotland. 477

branches off to ten branches of from 6 in. to 10 in. in diameter. Height from
35 to 40 ft., with a wide round top, and handsomely formed.

I presume you know that our beautiful ships of war, and many of our merchant
vessels (the Philadelphia and Liverpool packets for instance), are built of the
durable live oak. I spent the winter of 1805 and the following spring on St.
Simon’s, and saw groves of the live oak, from the lower branches of which
hung the Tillandsia wsnecides waving in the wind, to the length of 15 or 20 feet
Any part of the living plant, according to Mr. Bartram, torn off and caught in
the limbs of the tree, will presently take root, grow, and increase in the same
perfection as if it had sprung from the seed. When fresh, cattle and deer will
eat it in the winter. The acorns of the live oak are pleasant food, and the
deer are very fond of them. They fatten on them speedily, and I can speak ex-
perimentally of the high flavour of the venison. Mr. Cowper says that the
live oak grows quickly in open cultivated ground, but slowly in its native
forests. —J. MZ. Philadelphia, July 14. 1841,

Art. III. Domestic Notices.

ENGLAND.

THE Effect of Under-draining. — There is a field on the estate of the Earl of
Leicester, at Longford, in this county, which some years ago was occupied by
Mr. John Sherratt, and brought forth rushes in such abundance that the occu-
pier gave leave to any body to carry them away who would be at the trouble
to mow them. Three years ago the field was drained, under the direction of
Mr. T. Harper of Foston; and this year, we are told, the present occupier,
Mr. T. Robinson, has cut three tons an acre of as nice herbage as ever grew.
(Derbyshire Chronicle.) .
Brugmansia bicolor. — There is now (Aug.) in the garden of the warden of
Wadham College, Oxford, a splendid specimen of this noble shrub. It has
been very successfully grown for several years by Mr. Robinson, gardener
there, and this season, in the open air, it has attained the height of 8 ft., the
branches extending over a surface of 9 ft. in diameter, and presents daily, on
an average, about 300 perfect blossoms.— W.H. B. Aug. 1841.

SCOTLAND.

The Douglas Monument. — This mark of European respect for departed
genius and worth is now in course of erection by the Messrs. Cochrane,
brothers, marble-cutters and sculptors, Perth, who furnished the accepted
design to the committee; and we have no doubt the design itself and the
execution thereof will do much credit to these gentlemen. The sub-
committee appointed to superitend the erection, consisting of Colonel Mur-
ray Belshes of Invermay ; Mr. Robertson, gardener, Kinfauns Castle; Mr.
Dodds, gardener, Scone Palace; and Mr. Gorrie, gardener, Annatt Cottage,
met by appointment at the place of erection, in Scone churchyard, for the
purpose of depositing, near the foundation, memoranda that may tell to the
men of far distant ages of the passing events of the present day. Col. M.
Belshes, whose chaste taste, untiring zeal, and sound judgment, have rendered
the labours of the other members of the committee comparatively easy, depo-
sited in a cavity made in a stone for the purpose, a paper containing a portrait
and biographical notice of the late Mr. David Douglas, furnished by J.C. Loudon,
Esq., Bayswater, a copy of the Gardener’s Gazette of Saturday, the 24th of July,
the Perth Constitutional of the 28th of July,with other papers and memoranda;
and, at the request of the colonel, Mr. Gorrie deposited in the same cavity the
gold and silver coins of the present reign; after which the repository was
closed, and overlaid with a large stone, whereon is hewn an elegant wreath
of foliage, flowers, and fruit, to be surmounted by the marble slab with the

478 | Retrospective Criticism.

inscription. The ceremony was performed in silence, and in the presence of
several ladies and gentlemen, some of whom were acquainted with him whose
memory the monument is intended to perpetuate. (Gard. Gaz., Aug. 7.)

Art. 1V. Retrospective Criticism.

BurNING of Soils, as a Means of improving them.—In the Magazine for
July, p. 345., there is an article on burning of soils, as a means of improving
them ; and in your own “ Design for laying out a Suburban Residence,” you
say (p. 352.) that “the soil of both the kitchen-garden and orchard will be
rendered light by burnt lumps of clay intermixed with it in a state of powder.”
Sir Humphry Davy tells us that by burning we “ convert a matter which was
stiff and damp, and in consequence cold, into one powdery, dry, and warm, and
much more proper as a bed for vegetable life.” This theory, I think, admits
of great doubt of its being founded on strictly scientific principles. At least
I have not found it to answer in practice. About fifteen or sixteen years ago
the burning of soil in this neighbourhood was all the rage. In fact, there
was a perfect mania among the farmers for soil-burning, and, like a great many
other new schemes, it was expected to work wonders; but the rage has long
passed away, and it is now quite out of date. Farmers found that it did not
answer their expectations, and I, as a gardener, found out its bad effects,
which is my chief reason for troubling you with this letter. At the time
when burning was the rage, my worthy employer wished me to try a
quarter of the garden here, which is a stiff tenacious soil upon a clay bottom,
stating that there was one of his tenants who had burnt his garden all over,
and he had converted it from a strong clay into a fine light soil. This was
great encouragement for me to proceed, so I set about it, and had a quarter
of the garden burnt all over about eight inches deep. Knowing from the
stiffness of the soil that it was of no use half-doing it, I burnt it till it was
red like bricks, and expected the most beneficial results. The first summer,
which was the fine summer of 1826, it worked light and friable, and I began
to think that I had cured it of its stiffness, but even in that dry sum-
mer I found it a powerful absorbent. The next summer it began to get
stiffer, and the third year it became as stiff or even stiffer than before it was
burnt. Whether it was judiciously burnt or not is another matter, but I cer-
tainly failed in converting a stiff soil into a permanent light one; nor haye I
ever since been able to make that quarter of the garden equal to those which
were not submitted to the action of heat. I have had it covered with lime
and sharp sand mixed, 3 or 4 inches thick, and strongly manured with
animal and vegétable manures at different times, but it still continues to bear
indifferent crops, and is not so pleasant to work as the rest of the garden.
So that I have not only failed in converting a stiff soil into a light one, but I
have also deteriorated it, and such has been the case with every one of my
neighbours who has attempted it. —W.H. Mawley Hall, Aug. 9. 1841.

Mr, Niven’s Stove for various Purposes. (p. 429.) —I should have been
happy, had it been convenient for my friend Catius in the north, to have
been honoured with his proper name and address ; as, doubtless, from the
nature of his assertions, the public, for whom he is interested, and I myself,
might have derived no small benefit from his superior knowledge. This
common advantage being denied me, I must regret leaving him to his present
obscurity ; from which, when it may please him to emerge, I hope not to be
without substantial evidence of the advantage arising from my arrangements,
Time is the test of truth. — MN. Niven. Richmond Hill, Monkstown, Dublin,

Aug. 10. 1841.

ee | THE
GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,
OCTOBER, 1841.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Art. 1. The Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. By
G. Recet, Gardener in the Royal Botanic Garden at Berlin.

(Translated from the Garten Zeitung, March 14. 1840, p..81.):

THe treatment of this subject has its particular difficulties. It
is not our intention entirely to exhaust it here; it is only an
attempt to make the newly acquired discoveries of vegetable
physiolegists available to practical gardening; to place the
general principles of physiology in close connexion with the
phenomena daily observed by gardeners themselves, and thus to
unite, as it were, their experience into a whole, founded on
scientific principles. :

Perhaps this paper may give rise to the subject being more
comprehensively and fundamentally treated than it. is in these
pages; nor would my numerous readers perhaps have requested
it, had I not enjoyed friendly guidance and help from a quarter
which it is not necessary further to particularise.

The subject will be divided into as many sections as there are
stages of growth in plants, each of which will form a whole
of itself.

I. On tHE PropacaTiIon oF Puants:
A. Propagation by Seed, accompanied by the Phenomena of Germination.

Of all the means of propagation, undoubtedly that by seed is
the most important to gardeners; partly because many plants
are exclusively confined to that manner of growth, and partly
because a more speedy increase is effected thereby.

The seeds of annual plants germinate in general quicker and
more certainly than perennial plants, and in general retain their
power of germination much longer. ‘The greater part of the
seeds of perennial plants, when well kept, also preserve their
germinating powers for a long time, while comparatively few
decay soon after ripening, as is the case with oily seeds, such as
Dictamnus, Magnolza, Myristica, &c. ‘Thus, it has often been
remarked, that on places that for twenty or more years have

1841.— X, 3d Ser. Il

480 Principles of Gardening

been used for other purposes, when again brought into cultivation,
a great number of annual plants have sprung up: also, in pulling
down old buildings, seeds capable of germinating have been
found in the clay which was used in building; and even
some sorts of grain, which were found in the Egyptian mum-
mies, and must have been several thousand years old, are said
to have germinated (??). The seed of Verdnica hedereefolia L.
is the most remarkable in this respect; for, sometimes, after
heavy rains, it springs up on the surface of fields, where pre-
viously no trace of this plant was to be found, so that it has
been supposed that the seed had fallen with the rain. Repeated
experiments have, however, shown that these seeds, even in cir-
cumstances favourable to then developement, have lain for many
years without evincing the least change; and we can, therefore,
believe with certainty, that in this case they grew out of the
ground. Others, again, infer an immediate creation of many of
our common annual plants, and advance many circumstances in
proof of it; such as their sudden appearance in great quantities,
or the continual renewal of the growth of weeds in enclosed

gardens, which, for a long series of years, have been always
carefully destroyed.

But all this only demonstrates the long-preserved power of
germination retained by many seeds. For even if we cannot
dispr ove the immediate creation of a number of plants of the lowest
organisation, yet when we reflect how many seeds are disse-
minated by birds, or by animal manure, this hypothesis, which
cannot be admitted in the present state of science, is entirely set
aside. At Gottingen, I had myself an opportunity of observing,
on several occasions, circumstances of this sort; one year, an
annual plant, Alsine sagittalis Z., came up in great profusion,
which had not been found there for more than twenty years. I
also found Rumex maritimus Z., and Cyperus fascus Z., thickly
overspreading the bottom of a pond that had been drained the
year before, no trace of these plants being to be found in the
neighbourhood ; ; and what rendered the circumsiance the more
striking was, that this pond for many years had always been full
of water. These cases may easily explain that already men-
tioned ; the more so, as, in turning over the soil, the seed does
not always obtain a favourable situation for germinating; and
also that the weather, during the period of germination, has a
great influence on it.

The most favourable season for the germination of eailic the
spring; and though many sorts grow at different times, yet it is
always more Sie | to sow them at this season, when the vegetable
kingdom awakens from the sleep of nature. ‘Thus we often
find that many of the seeds of our quickly growing annual
plants, when sown immediately after ripening, either do not

physiologically considered. 481

come up at all that year, or singly and sickly; on which account,
even in the open air, there is a distinction between the autumn
and the spring seeds. This will be seen by the following ex-
periment. In May, 1838, I gathered, at Bonn, seeds of Draba
przeecox. To be certain of the species, I sowed the seeds in a
pot by themselves, which I placed in an open pit (Kasten) with
other seeds which were to be kept cold, and treated them the
same. Only two plants came up that year, of very stunted
growth, and never attained strength to flower; while next spring
the remaining seed came up very thick and strong, and flowered
in the space of four weeks. ‘Thus it may, in cultivation on
a large scale, be observed, that, of the seed which did not ger-
minate in spring, only a little comes up in summer; while late
in the season, when plants in the open air make a second
growth, more come up; and in the following spring, usually, the
remainder of the perfect seed comes up. Of the more difficultly
germinating seeds of several trees and shrubs, such as Méspilus
and others, it often happens that, seeds of the same sowing come
up every spring after a lapse of three or four years. A great
portion of biennial plants make an exception to this rule: their
seed, being sown immediately after ripening, generally comes
up good and quickly, becoming strong plants before winter,
which usually flower the following year. Many, also, that are
cultivated as annual plants, show the same sort of developement;
but it is only those which live for a considerable length of time,
such as, for example, a great number of the Californian annuals,
which are now cultivated as ornamental plants. In their native
country they spring up before winter, and are preserved through-
out that season by a continual covering of snow.

Moisture, heat, and oxygen are requisite for the process of
germination; and if any of these three requisites is wanting,
germination is prevented. Darkness was formerly considered,
also, as one of the requisites for hastening germination: but it
is not founded on nature; for, though we, in proportion to their
size, cover the seeds with sufficient earth to maintain an equal
moisture, we also scatter the smaller seeds, such as ferns and
heaths, on the surface, and produce the uniform moisture by
means of a glass covering.

Moisture and oxygen, together with a small portion of
nitrogen (although it is doubtful whether the latter is necessary
to germination), are taken up by the seed, while the process of
assimilation (or digestion) is promoted by the heat. ‘That the
want of moisture prevents the germination of seeds is well
known to every gardener; and, on that account, we preserve
our seeds in the driest place we can command. ‘The want
of oxygen and heat has, also, some effect, as the following will

show. If a number of seeds are put in a little water, which
It 2

482 Principles of Gardening

should not exceed more than from ten to twenty times their
bulk, and all communication with the surrounding atmosphere
be cut off, so that the water may not absorb any oxygen from it,
the seeds do not germinate, although placed in a sufficiently
high temperature; when the same experiment is repeated with
a proportionately larger quantity of water, they find in it suffi-
cient oxygen to enable them to germinate. Old seeds germinate
sooner in pure oxygen than in atmospheric air, when oxygen is
by degrees absorbed, and carbonic acid given out. As is well
known, the absorbed oxygen burns (verbrennt) with the carbon
of the plant, and thereby forms the carbonic acid, which is
emitted; this may be considered as a sort of breathing process,
by which, when, as in this case, it takes place ina high degree,
it produces the high temperature which is observable in ger-
minating seeds when many are together. Thus, nature wisely
provides that the necessary heat for the process of assimilation
of the reserved nourishment should be increased by this pro-
perty of the seed in germinating.

Under 3° of Reaumur (40° Fahrenheit), the seeds of our
native plants do not germinate; while those of the tropics, the
functions of which proceed more rapidly, require a pro-
portionately higher temperature. Dry seeds stand so high a
degree of cold, that even the lowest temperature of the frigid
zone does not injure them. But, if they have imbibed any
moisture, they freeze in proportion to the state of growth that
had been excited, and according to the climate of their native
zone ; for cold, as will be shown in another chapter, only kills by
the sudden interruption of vegetation or life. Too high a de-
gree of heat is, on the contrary, injurious to seeds; and, when
continued for several days, they are killed at a temperature of
from 35° to 40° Reaumur (111° to 122° Fahrenheit), while, for
a short time, they could stand 60° of Reaumur (167° Fahren-
heit), if quite dry. For this reason, we should avoid exposing
the seed in seed-rooms to the direct heat of the stove, or drying
them on the stove, as they then invariably lose their power of
germination.

Plants of the temperate zones, when there is a sufficient
quantity of them, are generally sown, in the Botanic Garden, in
the open ground, or in shallow pans, which are placed in open
pits, where they can be protected from heavy rain, which would

wash them up; for the admission of the free air, on account of
the great quantity of oxygen it contains, is very favourable
to germination. ‘The seeds of the warmer zones, as well as of
those annuals which, on account of our short summer, must be
sown early in order to ripen their seeds, are put in beds lined
with a mixture of half horse-dung and half leaves; because
these materials do not become heated to such a degree as

physiologically considered. 483

to injure the seed, and, at the same time, produce an equal

temperature. When circumstances permit, low houses, with
beds prepared for heating, particularly for early sowing, are
much to be recommended. If the seeds of tropical plants were
treated like those of our climate, they would, no doubt, absorb
moisture and oxygen; but, for want of the necessary warmth
for promoting the change of matter (or vegetation), instead of
the process of assimilation, a fermenting process would take
place, which would destroy the seed.

For this reason cold sowing late in autumn is to be avoided,
except for seeds difficult of germination. ‘The middle of March
will do for beginning to sow the quickly growing sorts, namely,
the annuals, in dung-beds; it is, however, better to. delay it some
time longer, to prevent the plants growing too rank. It must
not be neglected to give air from time to time, even to the seed
which has not come up, in order that it may have sufficient
oxygen for its developement.

How much a moderate degree of heat promotes germination,
the gardener may almost every day convince himself of; but any
One can observe, every year, how the seed sown in the open
ground after the first warm spring rains suddenly springs up, if
the ground has been sufficiently moist before. But this does not
seem to be occasioned by heat alone, as the same effect may be
observed in temperate seed-beds, kept regularly warm and moist,
when, by removing the sashes, they are exposed to the influence
of the atmosphere and a gentle rain. A greater quantity of
oxygen seems then to be present in the rain-water and the air,
which, penetrating with the rain into the ground, excites the
seed to the greatest activity.

The first change which takes place in the germinating seed
is seen immediately after the absorption of the water in the
cotyledons (or seed leaves), the substance of which becomes
softer, often assumes a greenish tint, and tastes sweetish. After
this a lengthening of the root takes place, which. receives its
nourishment from the cotyledons. It then penetrates the husk,
through the micropylus (a very small hole in the husk of the
seed, which corresponds with the point of the root), and breaks
it at this spot, so that the embryo and cotyledons now burst
forth. ‘The young plant is then nourished by the aliment laid
up in the cotyledons, till the root begins to branch. Hence it
often happens, that, when the cotyledons are destroyed by insects
or otherwise, the young plants are irretrievably lost.

As soon as the husks become soft and tender, the seeds absorb
the surrounding moisture, and germinate in general, if they are
not too old, very quickly. If the husk is, on the contrary, hard,
and as in many cases stony, the moisture penetrates only through
the micropylus, and is communicated to. the cotyledons by the

113

48 4 Principles of Gardening

root. In these cases the seeds lie sometimes very long in the
ground without germinating ; the absorption of moisture going on,
in general, too slowly to effect a quick and strong developement,
which is absolutely necessary to burst those firm husks or shells
which are bound together, as it were, by sutures. ‘These seeds
are often lost when they lie for many years; and, to make sure of
them, artificial means should be applied. To cause a rapid
germination of the seeds of the acacia, soaking them in boiling
water has been applied of late years with success ; but, in general,
this is a very unsafe means, and may do more injury than good.
The safest and best way is to cut or file the hard shell, when it
is only necessary to penetrate at one spot to the albumen, or
cotyledons. From this spot the seed imbibes its quantity of
moisture, the root is quickly developed, and, with the help
of the swollen cotyledons, bursts the sutures of the husk. In this
way I have seen many hard-shelled seeds of monocotyledonous
and dicotyledonous plants, such as Canna, Pzeonia, Acacia,
Abrus, Erythrina, Cassia, Schotéa, Guilandina, Adenanthera,
Bauhinza, and Cesalpinia, germinate in a short time, mostly in
from ten to twenty days. If the seeds are old, they should, after
cutting, be laid for a few days in lukewarm rain-water, and,
if they have any life remaining, it will be stimulated thereby.

Something similar also takes place with seeds which, besides
the testa, or husk, are also enclosed in a pericarpium, or fruit~
covering. They lie either in fours, at the bottom of a dry hollow
cup, as in the Labiate and Boraginez ; or they are single, or
several, surrounded with a thick fleshy cup, as in many species
of the Rosaceze; or single, or in twos, covered with a dry cup,
which, in general, grows into the pericarpium, as in Composite,
Umbelliferse, and their allied species. Lastly, in the Graminez,
we find them only surrounded with the pericarpium, as true
caryopsi, which often grow into the husky skin of the perian-
themum or involucellum. Many of them germinate as easily as
naked seeds; and this depends, also, partly on the capacity or
incapacity of the husk to absorb water in a natural state. We
find them hard and stony only among the Rosacez, as Rdsa,
Prunus, Cotoneaster, Méspilus, Cratze\gus, &c., which also re-
quire cutting if intended to germinate quickly. The remainder
are divided, according to their formation, into two groups; those
possessing albumen, in which the embryo lies, and those that do
not. For, as we remarked that the cotyledons always imbibe
the water first and easiest, whereas the albumen is less hygro-
scopic, the germination of those seeds which have none, but
whose interior is entirely filled with the embryo and cotyledons,
as in the Boraginese, Labiatae, Compésitee, &c., will be more
easily effected.

The Gramineze and Umbelliferae, on the contrary, possess

rane
“f
a

physiologically considered. 485

albumen : in the former, the embryo lies outside cf the albumen,
on which account they easily germinate; whereas, in the latter,
the embryo is entirely surrounded by the albumen, for which
reason, with the exception of most of the annual or biennial sorts,
they are more difficult to vegetate. As they cannot be cut with
advantage, it is usual to sow them late in autumn, with other
difficult-growing sorts; so that when the universal period of
germination comes, in the spring, they may be sufficiently pene-
trated with moisture. ‘This method is very well suited for sow-
ing on a large scale; but as the seed often perishes during the
winter, and the earth becomes sour, or thickly covered with
moss, the preferable way for valuable seeds is to sow them in the
spring, after they have been soaked for some days previously in
warm water.

In this way very old seeds of Umbelliferee, in which the em-
bryo seemed entirely dried up, often germinate quickly, of which
I give the following as an example: — In the botanic garden at
Bonn, in the spring of 1838, four pans were sown with seed, full
ten years old, of Férula tingitana Z., and only those in two of
the pans were previously soaked. The latter sprung up all
together in from ten to twenty days, while of those in the other
pans, which were left for trial, only a few plants came up in one
pan in the spring of the following year, the rest of the seed
having all rotted.

The process of germination transforms the nourishing matter
contained in the seeds, such as starch (amylum) and gluten, into
a sugary substance. Kirchhof’s experiments show that when
starch is stirred with a little cold water, and then boiling water
poured on and continually stirred till it forms a consistent mass,
such as is used in book-binding; and, after some gluten (gluey
matter of plants (Pflanzenleim) and albumen) has been added,
the whole placed in a tolerably warm temperature for several
days; the mass by degrees becomes watery and sweet, and part
of the starch is changed into gum, and part into sugar. ‘The
same effect is produced by boiling the mass with diluted acid,
and putting it in a temperature of from 10° to 18° R. (56° to 59°
Fah.), with or without the influence of the open air. In the latter
process, a mass indissoluble in water remains behind, which has
been named lignine, starchy woody matter (starkeartigen Holz-
stoff ). From these experiments it appears that it is chiefly heat,
and the gluten contained in a great many seeds, which cause the
transformation of the matter in germination, which we call the
process of assimilation.

There are still many experiments which have been made to
accelerate germination open to the consideration of the practical
gardener. Alexander von Humboldt was the first to observe

that watering with chlorine (Chlorwasser) induced speedy ger-
11 4 ;

486 Effects of the Winter of 1840-41

mination, which proved that chlorine generates oxyen in the light.
The same effect has also been observed in seeds which vegetated
entirely in the dark; and as, according to the observations of
Goppert, iodine and bromine (Jod und Brom), in conjunction
with hydrogen, produce a similar effect, it appears that both
these matters, as well as the acids frequently applied for that
purpose, hasten the process of assimilation. It cannot be denied,
that all these substances accelerate germination, but to the prac-
tical gardener they must be considered as experiments unfit for
general practice ; for the young plants thus called into existence
grow sickly through the excitement, and die off, which cannot
surprise us, as the same effect is seen when plants of cold climates
are reared too warmly, and are not placed in a cooler situation
after germination.

In the seeds of the species of Casuarina, Salvia, Collomia, and
Lepidium, we find a remarkable formation, which deserves to be
mentioned at the conclusion of this chapter. In the outer cells
of the seeds of these plants there is a sort of slime, which, when
they are kept moist, attracts the water, swells out, bursts the
testa, and surrounds the seed as a slimy sticky mass, which ap-
pears to be intended to keep the seed continually moist, and to
nourish the young plants in the first stage of their growth.

( Lo be continued. )

Art. II. Effects of the Winter, from December 1840 to March
1841, on perennial Plants in the open Air. By FREDERICK
Orto. Berlin. |

(Translated from the Garten Zeitung for 1841, p. 195.)

ALTHOUGH last winter was not generally so severe as that of
1837-38, its effects on vegetation here were very different, and
caused the most melancholy desolation among our plants. The
perennial plants suffered the most, although our trees and shrubs
were not spared. No winter here ever had so great an effect
upon the perennials; and many of them, which had formerly with-
stood the most severe cold, are this year completely destroyed.
The cause of all this devastation is undoubtedly the absence of
a covering of snow, as we had none whatever in the beginning of
winter, and the frost therefore had no difficulty in penetrating
the soil; which, upon trial in different places, was found to be
the case, as measurement proved it to be nearly 3 ft. deep. The
soil by this means could not be worked, and the usual winter
occupations were put a stop to. In addition to this cold, a
sharp and continued east wind set in, with a great deal of sun-

on perennial Plants in the open Air. 487

shine, which, if it wanted in power, produced a dry air; and
thus the frozen stems above ground, and those of the peren-
nials under ground, sustained still more injury, and at last were
completely destroyed.

The cold began about the beginning of December, and lasted,
without being very severe, till the middle of January; but it was
uninterrupted and dry, and without snow. At last some snow
fell, which formed a covering ; but it was unfortunately tco late,
as the greater number of the perennials had already yielded to
the effects of the winter, and others, again, that had withstood it,
shared the same fate, notwithstanding the fall of snow. A thaw
then came on, which lasted but a short time; the snow was
melted, but the water could not penetrate the frozen soil, and
remained standing on the beds, when the frost again came on,
and lasted till March, so that the beds became sheets of ice,
which totally covered or surrounded the plants. ‘This was fol-
lowed by milder weather, and the ice began to give way about
the plants; but the frost set in again, so that the plants were
again surrounded by ice, and many of them completely pene-
trated by it. The effects of last winter have proved, that 18° or
20° of Reaumur, accompanied by a sufficient covering of snow,
is by far less injurious to vegetation than a much less degree of
cold without snow, particularly in a free open situation, where
the soil is light and sandy. In the northern regions, where the
winter regularly sets in at a fixed time, with a heavy fall of
snow, and where the weather is steady, accompanied by a great
degree of cold, and the thaw does not come on till spring,
there the perennials thrive much better, and fewer of them perish
from the frost than in those parts where the weather in winter
is variable.

Nature often acts differently from our theories; and it is re-
markable, that the frost destroyed those plants which we had
always considered very hardy, and which had stood our climate
for many years, some of them, indeed, actually natives, and only
retained in the garden as fine specimens. Among these may be
reckoned, more particularly, perennials, which for a course of years
had been the ornament of our gardens, but which were entirely
swept away, from the effects of the winter. Auriculas, also, pri-
mulas, daisies, pinks, mallows, violets (even those in a wild state),
and a great many similar plants, were entirely destroyed. Straw-
berries were partly frozen, particularly where the runners were
not taken away in autumn. ‘The evergreen perennials, however,
suffered the most, such as the different species of Saxifraga; the
leaves of which were so hard frozen that they might have been
reduced to powder, especially where they had no covering, or
where the covering had been blown off by the uninterrupted east
wind, The following plants, also, were totally killed by the frost:

488 Effects of the Winter of 1840-41.

a great part of the Labiatee, Scrophularinee, Boraginez, Ascle-
piadecee, Convolvulaceze, Polemoniacez ; the greater number of the
species of Phlox, with their varieties; several of the Umbelliferze,
Leguminose, Malvaceze, Caryophylleze, Cruciferze, particularly
the evergreen species, and a great many of the North American
Compositze, such as those of the genera A’ster, Solidago, Hupa-
torzwm, Rudbéckza, &c. ; and even, also, the Syngenesious natives
of the North of Germany, such as Cirsium, Carduus, and Cen-
tauréa, have suffered severely. Plants which have stood the
winter here for fourteen years in the open air, such as Cassia
marilandica, Macléaya (Bocconia) cordata, and #héum pal-
matum, &c., are completely killed by the frost. Among the
bulbs, the species of Zilium have principally suffered; also
Trideze, and the Babiana plicata, in great numbers, have perished.
It would occupy too much space to enumerate all the species of
plants that have suffered more or less from the cold, but those I
have mentioned are sufficient to show that exactly those have
suffered the most which we had been in the habit of considering
as hardy.

On the other hand, many plants escaped the frost, which,
in other winters that were less severe, had always shown them-
selves tender, and among these many specimens which had
been planted to replace those which had been previously killed
by the frost, and therefore more likely to suffer. ‘There re-
mained uninjured, for instance, under a slight covering, different
species of Pentstémon, Nuttallza digitata and malveefolia; Epimé-
dium violdceum, Masschianwm, and macranthum, from Japan ;
the different species of Japanese Fankza (Hemerocallis), Hoteia
japonica, Michatixia campanuloides and leevigata; also many
plants from Nepal and the Himalayan range.

The biennials have also particularly suffered, as their tender
roots could not withstand the cold; and among these the Cru-
ciferee and many others have perished, which had stood the
cold of harder winters. As far as we are informed, the winter
corn has particularly suffered in many places, and particularly
about the banks of the Oder.

Among the trees and shrubs, the Leguminosz have suffered
the most; such as Genista, Cytisus, Adenocarpus, Coronilla,
Cércis, &c.; also the Rosaceze, such as Rosa, Rubus, Amygda-
lus, Cérasus, Cratee‘gus, Photinia, Cotoneaster, Pyrus, and Cy-
donia; while, on the contrary, the different species of Spiree‘a
from Nepal, such as S. vacciniifolia and bélla, remained uninjured
even to the very points of the shoots. Plants of Calycanthus, of
thirty years of age, were completely killed; the like of which
never occurred before. Pzeonta Mottan also perished.

In many private gardens where shrubs, and particularly roses,

Importance of analysing Soils. 489

had been buried *, to protect them from the cold, they perished
because the place dug had not been deep enough.

Plants in greenhouses, on the contrary, stood extremely well,
on account of the clear and frosty weather. ‘The plants, also, in
hot-frames, which are not kept covered longer than two months,
were fresh and healthy; most of them were evergreen shrubs,
and plants which partly belonged to the frigidarium and partly
to the tepidarium.

Arr. II. Importance to Gardeners of a Knowledge of the Method
of analysing Soils. By Peter MAcKENZIE.

Tue method of analysing soils should form a part of the ac-
quirements of every gardener, and yet how few there are that
can tell what are the component parts of the soil from which
they earn their daily bread; judging from their writings, they
appear to be better acquainted with synthesis than analysis.

Almost every gardener has his own composition for growing
his favourite flowers and vegetables. ‘Take, for instance, the
carnation. One man recommends rotten horse-dung, loamy
earth, and coarse sea-sand, in certain proportions; another will
substitute cow-dung for horse-dung; a third will add newly
slaked lime; a fourth recommends unburnt sulphate of lime,
finely ground; and a fifth considers burnt turf ashes an ex-
cellent ingredient for mixing with carnation composition. The
most of them agree in recommending loamy earth as part of
their compost: but loam is a very indefinite term; sometimes
clay may predominate in one place and sand in another. It is
also known to those who have analysed soils, that the oxide of
iron is not always found in equal quantities; and there may at.
one time be the peroxide of iron, and at another time the prot-
oxide of iron. Yet, with all these differences, and more that
might be named, it still goes by the name of loamy earth. How-
ever well some of these composts may do in one part of the
country, it is as well known that they are often condemned in
another district. If both loams had been analysed, perhaps
some ingredient would be found in the one which the other did
not possess, that might be the cause of the failure so often com-
plained of.

If gardeners were able to discover by analysis the component
parts of the soil, it would enable them, perhaps, to work with a
greater degree of certainty than they can possibly do at present,
with their empirical knowledge in that department of gardening.

* [In this operation the plants are not taken up by the roots, but a hole is
dug, and the plant is bent down in it, and then covered up.]

490 Use of the Pisang and Banana.

The druggist may be a very useful man in his own way, and
may be well acquainted with the pharmacopceias of London and
Edinburgh ; but many will not trust their bodies in his hands
where medical aid is required: it is generally from the pre-
scription of the physician that he compounds his medicine; and
although he may have an abundance of Emplastra, Pilulze, Pul-
veres, ‘Tincturze, and ‘Trochisci, yet even these are often made
by order of men who have made, or ought to have made, the
Materia Medica their study ; who can tell whether a narcotic
drug will act as a stimulant or not; or whether ipecacuanha is
an emetic; or if A‘rum maculatum will increase the secretion of
saliva. Now, as gardeners have to act, in the case of plants, both
as physicians and pharmacopolists, they certainly should en-
deavour to become acquainted with the ingredients of the soil,
and what effect these may have upon vegetation. Besides the
water of absorption, there are often found in the soil stones and
gravel, undecomposed vegetable fibre, carbonate of lime, car-
bonate of magnesia, silica, alumina, oxide of iron, salt, sulphate
of lime, copper, &c. Some of these ingredients appear to be
mechanically mixed, others to be chemically combined; and no
doubt particles of matter in both states will exert an influence
upon the growth of vegetables that may either be beneficial or
pernicious. It is, therefore, the gardener’s interest to become
acquainted with the good, and be able to detect the evil, pro-
perties that may exist in the soil.
West Plean, Sept. 4. 1841.

Art. 1V. On the Use of the Species of Pisang (Misa paradisiaca)
and the Banana (Misa sapiéntum). By EpwArpD OrtTo.

(Translated from the Garten Zeitung for 1841, p. 185.)

Two species of Musa, with their numerous varieties, constitute
the chief articles of food of the natives and slaves on the Island
of Cuba; and it is also somewhat the case in South America,
but has not long been so common there. ‘Iwo species are dis-
tinguished in both countries : —

1. Musa paradisiaca ZL. Pisang; Platano, Spanzsh ; Plan-
tain, Linglish.

2. Musa sapiéntum Z. Banane; Cambure, Spanish ; Banana,
English.

1. Musa paradisiaca. — 'This came originally from India, and
is also said to be indigenous to the Brazils, as I found it in
several parts of Venezuela, where it was not likely it could have
been planted. I met with it in places which bore no traces of
an old plantation, and where no vestiges of the settlement of
human beings could be seen. It may, indeed, have been culti-

Use of the Pisang and Banana. 491

vated a hundred years ago by the Indians, whose custom it is to
leave their places of abode after the lapse of a few years, if they
find that the cultivated soil begins to yield but little increase.
A hut constructed of the fronds and branches of palms, and a
small spot of cultivated land in a wild luxuriant neighbourhood,
so soon show the effects of time, that, even in the course of a
few years, no traces of either are visible, except, perhaps, a few
plants that have been cultivated there may continue to grow. I
saw but few, and none that bore any signs of blossom or
fruit.

Musa paradisiaca is the species that is most cultivated and
most used. It grows to the height of 12, 15, or even 20 feet,
according to the soil and situation. The stem is 1 ft. to 14 ft.
in diameter, of a light yellow green with dark brown spots,
and the petiole of the leaf is of the same colour. The fruit
1 ft. to 16 in. long, and 2 or 3 inches broad. Its outer cover-
ing, when ripe, is of a deep yellow, and, when too much so, has
dark brown spots. The fleshy part is also of a dark yellow
colour. The fruit is used in various ways, and, as I have
already said, is the most cultivated. It is a substitute for bread
for the slaves, and poor white people, in almost all the West
Indian Islands, who have neither the means nor the wish to
prepare bread from the maize (arepas). A slave can have from
six to eight fully grown unripe fruits, from the largest and best
plants, which he can prepare in any way he pleases; and an
idea may easily be formed of the number of pisangs that are
cultivated, so as to supply from 400 to 500 negroes on an
average with five pisangs, large or small, daily, not to mention
the amazing quantity that is conveyed to market in the different
towns. As far as I have observed on my journey, this fruit is
more eaten on the islands than in South America, where the
cassava is used instead, the well known bread made from the
roots of the Jatropha Manzhot.

This species of Musa is but little eaten when raw or fully
ripe; partly on account of economy, and partly from the taste
being not quite so agreeable as that of other varieties. It is,
however, eaten when well covered with sugar or syrup. When
half-ripe, the outer covering is removed, the fruit pressed flat,
and roasted or fried in fat; and it is also cut in thin slices, either ~
horizontally or longitudinally, and prepared in the same manner ;
in both of which ways it has a most agreeable taste. When the
fruit is fully grown, and begins to change colour, it is roasted on
coals, without removing the outer covering; and in this state it
is used as a substitute for bread. It is floury and dry, and very
much resembles potatoes in taste, particularly when eaten with
fresh butter, very rarely to be met with in those countries.
When unripe, half or fully grown, it is boiled in meat soup,

492 Use of the Pisang and Banana.

with vegetables, as we do carrots and turnips, &c. ‘The flesh of
the fruit remains pretty firm, but has a good taste, and gives the
soup a greyish colour.

There are a great many varieties of this species which I have
particularly examined.

a. Musa paradisiaca var. dominica. Dominique. — Intro-
duced from the Island of St. Domingo. A platane, or pisang,
with a stem 10 ft. in height, and frequently higher; and spotted
with black and brownish-red spots, and the petiole of the leaf
the same. The fruit is small, never more than half a foot long,
and 1 in. thick; the outer covering of a pale yellow colour, and
the flesh darker, always a little tough, but of a very good and
aromatic taste, and quite uninjurious when eaten. ‘This species
is usually eaten when ripe, and only when the other species
cannot be obtained. They boil or fry it in the same manner ;
and, as the fruit is smaller, it is more rarely to be met with, and
not so much cultivated.

b. Misa paradisiaca var. — Another variety, called topocho
by the Indians, and not very different from the foregoing.
The stem, however, is smaller, 6 or 7 feet in height, and the
leaves are of a deeper red, and ash grey-coloured underneath.
The fruit resembles the formice exactly in size and taste, and
is borne in much the same quantity.

2. Musa sapiéntum. Banane; Cambure. —'This species is
very different from the first mentioned, and is much less culti-
vated, as its fruit is generally eaten ripe, or in a raw state, and
more on account of its agreeable flavour than as an article of
food. In some parts of South America, however, I found it
very much cultivated, and it was the favourite fruit of the
Indians ; and, when there is a scarcity of pisang, this species
of Musa supplies its place. The stem is 10 or 12 feet in
height, and is green, marked with red. The fruit is small, being
only 3 in. long, and 2 in. broad. Some of the varieties are
much smaller, Baud of an oval form; but the flavour of these
is considered the best. The flesh and outward covering is of a
pale yellow. ‘This species is generally eaten, when ripe, in an
uncooked state ; but it is sometimes eaten with sugar, like pisang.
The soup in which it is boiled assumes a brownish violet colour.

There are several varieties of this species, such as —

Musa sapiéntum colorada (rosea). Red Banana. — This is
undoubtedly one of the prettiest musas. The stem is from
12 ft. to 15 ft. in height, the leaves long and slender, and the
colour of the stem and petiole of the leaf of a reddish brown.
The fruit is 1 ft. long, and 2 or 3 inches thick, rounded at the
ends. ‘The outward covering is reddish brown; the flesh a pale
yellow, very soft, juicy, and aromatic. It is only eaten when
ripe, and in an uncooked state.

Use of the Pisang and Banana. 493

Another, with somewhat reddish leaves, and the fruit also
reddish, very much resembles the former, but is very seldom
met with. I consider it to be Musa sapiéntum rubra.

The pisang and the bananas, when cooked, are quite uninju-
rious; but, when raw, they are not very wholesome; and this is
particularly the case with the bananas. ‘They are extremely
cold on the stomach, and difficult to digest. It is very dangerous
to drink even. water after eating them, and spirituous liquors are
much more so, as the most alarming consequences may be ex-
pected to follow. The pisang is very nourishing, but has the
tendency of enlarging the stomach, particularly with children.

The cultivation of the Musa in tropical countries is very
simple, and almost without any rule whatever. It is planted,
when quite young, in coffee plantations, and generally between
the coffee plants, to which they form a shade; and they are
planted from 15 ft. to 20 ft. apart. After the fruit has been
gathered, the stem is cut down, and permitted to lie among the
coffee plants, where it soon decays, and serves as an article of
manure. It is propagated with ease and rapidity by shoots from
the root. A coffee plantation, when deserted altogether or ne-
glected, soon becomes transformed into an impenetrable pisang
forest, as the latter in due time chokes up the little coffee trees,
which soon begin to look ill and die. The Musa requires a
light but nourishing soil, and one that is rather moist than dry,
and very much exposed to the sun. Its size and strength de-

_ pend entirely on these circumstances. A plantation of pisang

has never a very inviting appearance, as the greater number of
the leaves are generally very much torn by the winds, and hang
down on the stems either in a half-green or withered state. The
above-named varieties bear plentifully, and each stem forms a
spike which produces from 60 to 400 or more fruits. ‘They may
be cut off when not perfectly ripened, and hung up, when they
generally come to maturity all at once. When I was in the
valley of Aragua, in Venezuela, I saw a very remarkable oc-
currence in the coffee plantation of Palmar: a stem of a Musa
paradisiaca had a large spike of fruit, the upper part of which
was M. paradisiaca, and the lower part M. sapiéntum. The
lowest blossoms were probably fructified by insects conveying to
them the pollen of M. sapiéntum. Varieties between these two,
with respect to the fruit, are not known, and I have never found
fully formed seed in any.

Besides the stem of the Musa being used as an article of
manure, the leaves are also in great request as a covering for
huts, and as an umbrella for the coffee when it is being dried,
and for packing all kinds of objects. ‘The leaves are very much
used as a cooling remedy for wounds and swellings from burns
or irritation, and they are, therefore, laid under the saddle on

494 New System of heating Plant Structures.

horses and beasts of burthen. Pork, onions, Spanish pepper,
and similar spices, when mixed together, and surrounded with
paste, are packed in these leaves, and called Agapa.

The filamentaceous spirai tissue of the stem is of a light
material, which easily catches fire, and is therefore used as
tinder. The juice of the Musa has the very inconvenient pro-
perty of producing brown spots on any white stuff on which it
may happen to come, and nothing has yet been found that will
discharge it.

Art. V. A new System of heating Plant Structures. By
ALEXANDER FORSYTH.

Herewiru I send you a section (jg. 52.) illustrative of a
new system of heating garden structures, generating “ bottom-
heat”? and * top-heat,” moist
or dry, without pipes or flues,
dung, hot water or steam, tan,
or any other fermenting mate-
rial, by the agency of fire only,
in its cheapest and simplest form ;
that is, an open ingle in a kil-
logie. By this contrivance, the
labourer, with axe and spade
only, may erect a hotbed fora
three-light cucumber frame in a
summer’s evening, without wast-
ing a penny-worth of materials,
not even an iron nail or a

: rick; for the wooden sleepers
Fig. 52. Section of Hotbed on Forsyth’s System. marked d, being of worthless
undressed timber, will be all the better for six months hard
drying before they are cut up for fuel, consequently this cannot
be called waste. is the fuel on the hearth, being weeds, turves,
roots, coals, cinder, &c. &c.; c is the radiator, of old iron hoops,
platted like a sieve, for the obvious purpose of dispersing and
regulating the heat as it ascends to the bed; it is about a
square yard in size, and hangs immediately over the ingle; d,
the wooden sleepers, with the flooring of rough sticks laid
across them. One layer of turf and one of sand complete the
whole bed, ready for the hill (a), in which the cucumbers or
melons are to be sown. e, the rafters and lights: the walls are
of turves, to save the expense of the three-light frame or box.
é is the drain for the smoke, regulated in its draught by a stone
on the top of the turf chimney; 64, the original ground level.
From g g toh h is 10 ft., g to g about 6 ft. Whoever wants any

New System of heating Plant Structures. + 495

more explanation may be referred to the nearest malt-kiln or
corn-kiln, which is perhaps the oldest and most efficient hotbed
that is to be found.

The train of ideas that led me to adopt, or rather to press, this
system into.our service, with the plans for its erection, and the ex-
periments showing its capabilities, will be laid before the public in
due time, to show that radiant caloric, when aided in its dispersion
by capillary attraction and water, is a powerful agent well adapted
to nurse, force, or rear any plant usually grown in English
gardens. ‘The accompanying figure will give the labourer a
sufficient idea of a cucumber or melon pit; I shall therefore
suppose it constructed of turf and worthless timber, with spade
and axe only; and as he only wants lights glazed with fragment
glass, (which must be very cheap, since it can be bought in boxes,
cut'to 4in. by 3in., at three-pence per square foot, ) and the walls of
the bed being turf or earth puddled, he will only want a wall-plate
and rafters of dressed wood besides the lights, and may thus in
one or two evenings erect a three-light hotbed, where he may grow
plants, force fruits and vegetables, and propagate florist’s flowers
and others extensively. In short, there is no saying to what
extent gardening may be carried after this manner; since all
pipes, flues, masonry, &c., are done away with, and cheap rough
materials substituted, of which stone, where it abounds, will be
found the best adapted and the most durable, with which the
humble amateur will cheerfully grapple at all spare times, till he
attain the object that has hitherto been beyond his reach.

Fuel is now the only consideration ; but it may be observed
that the killogie will contain a stock of fuel and dry it for its own
consumption, and also for the family, if necessary, as the space
under the bed will be considerable, and may be adapted to fuel-
drying. The coarsest fuel, that could not be admitted mto any
human dwelling, will answer for the hotbed, such as the dung of
cattle collected off the roads, the grassy turves by the road side,
black soil, sawdust, tanner’s bark; but I need not enumerate, for I
know that where it is industriously looked after, and with a good
will, it will not long be wanting, especially in thinly populated
districts, as long as mineral fuel can be found in the earth, and
combustible substances on its surface.

I could point out hundreds of situations in Scotland, England,
and Wales, where cottages might rise and be surrounded by
gardens, in the hills and moors within a day’s march of large
towns, where the produce would meet a lively market ; a donkey’s
panniers loaded once a week with forced potatoes produced
in this way and without glass (only reed covers or the like over
the beds), from Christmas to Whitsunday, would realise no
mean sum, and benefit the buyer as well as the seller, in such

1841,— X. 3d Ser. K K

496 New System of heating Plant Structures.

towns as Bristol, Birmingham, or Manchester, where no such
thing is to be had at a price within reach of the middle
and lower classes before midsummer. Ah! my dear Sir, if
this kingdom were but well farmed, there would be food and
labour for all the people; but, if it were gardened, there could
not be found hands enough to cultivate its riches, without
recalling our emigrants or otherwise increasing the population,
to subdue the earth that hath run wild for ages, from sloth and
a sort of monkey-like mimickry, that induces one man to sow a
spot and a sort of grain merely because others do the same;
and, where he cannot get things to grow like other people’s,
he does not attempt to surmount the barrier by the ladder of his
own contrivance, and, with the materials that may abound in the
locality, use his best endeavours to equal or surpass his more
favoured rivals.

I do not claim the honour of inventing this system of heating,
for I learned it from an old farmer who dried oats on a kiln (or
hotbed) constructed of sticks and stone in the end of his barn,
with an ingle of peats. This was the first and the last straw-kiln
I ever saw ; and though extremely ill suited as a kiln, from the risk
of fire, and the tedious and laborious processes to be gone
through, it would have made an excellent hotbed, and on such,
as near as circumstances would permit, I reared my tender
annuals here this season, and showed them to several practical
men, with a red fire just under them. I, therefore, claim the
honour of being the first in England, as far as I am aware, that
ever raised the heat for a hotbed used in horticulture right over
an open fire; and lest it be thought a novelty, let me record,
for the honour of Scotland, that I learned it from an old veteran
of nearly one hundred years’ standing, who related in his own
barn, and by the light of the ingle ee, his youthful employments,
and among others, and with a rancour that cooled only with his
dust, how he bore arms at Culloden in 1745.

In conclusion, therefore, I would hint to all whom it may con-
cern —if you cannot find muck to make a stinking hotbed on
the ground, you perhaps, like me, may succeed in making a
sweeter and better, ay, and ten times cheaper, on the jst

oor.
£ Alton Towers, July 13. 1841.

P.S. The soot that may impregnate the superincumbent soil
will act as a manure if properly managed; and though there may
be a burning heat in the bed, no woodlouse will ever enter such a
chamber of smoke, nor, indeed, any other creature that breathes
the breath of life choose it for an abode, or even endure its atmo-
sphere for a night. No more talk of melon plants running ail to
leaf, and not fruiting by getting down in the dung of the bed below ;

| Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 497

the landmark is set; thus far and no farther dare root of melon
or foot of woodlouse come, therefore two of the greatest plagues
are stayed.

Art. VI. The Landscape-Gardening of F. L. von Sckell of Munich.
Translated from the German for the “ Gardener’s Magazine.”

(Continued from p. 415.)
III. On the Architectural Edifices which are suitable for a Garden.

J. THoucH every garden ought to be so constituted as to pro-
duce a pleasing and even an esthetical effect, altogether inde-
pendently of any aid from architecture, yet it cannot be denied
that architectural ornaments, judiciously applied, add greatly
to the effect of any garden, and even assist in giving it a dis-
tinctive character, as such objects are of rare occurrence in the
general landscape. In adapting buildings to a garden, great
taste and judgment are, however, required, in order that the
buildings should neither be too large nor too small, in proportion
to the extent of ground which they are required to decorate.
Great care should also be taken not to make the buildings too
numerous, this being a fault which has been frequently fallen
into in celebrated places ; as, for example, at Stowe in England,
and at Schwetzingen in the Palatinate of the Rhine: though in
the latter case the fault is almost excused, on account of its ex-
tremely beautiful temple and other buildings in the noblest style
of architecture, which far excel those of every other garden in
Europe. The monuments, also, of antiquity cannot be dispensed
with; as each, with its surrounding plantation, forms a pic-
turesque scene of itself.

2. Among the architectural edifices the most suitable for a
garden, the temples of the Greeks and Romans, in which they
offered their sacrifices to their gods, in all the pomp and
magnificence of the Pagan religion, should certainly find a
place. ‘The most beautiful forms and proportions are seen in
these temples, and it is only in these that the columns of the
different orders are seen in all their magnitude and beauty. It
is only in temples that the eye can repose on these orders with
delight, because then no other object is combined with them to
diminish their size, or to weaken their beautiful proportions, and
thereby to interrupt the enjoyment the mind is capable of feeling
from their contemplation. The most perfect of these temples
is only finished by being surmounted by a dome; and this, and
the beautiful entablature of the Greeks, have been handed down
to us from remote antiquity, as the forms most worthy of imita-
tion. But as the temples of the ancients were very different in
their forms and character, as well as in their proportions and

KK 2

498 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening.

arrangements, the landscape-gardener should be well acquainted
with them all.

Vitruvius, the father of ancient architecture, informs us, that
the ancients had fourteen different kinds of character in their
temples; and as these have been represented by Daniel Bar-
baro, by plans and drawings, in his translation of the work of
Vitruvius, I will subjoin a few of the most particular of them
here.

(1.) The temple which had neither pillars nor pilasters. The
proportions of this temple allowed eight parts for the length,
four for the breadth, and five for the height. The portico was
divided into three parts.

(2.) The temple in Ant/s had eight corner pilasters, with two
projecting pillars in the centre (Vorstehend), supporting an en-
tablature.

(3.) A second kind of temple in Anfis, the pillars of which did
not project, but were in a straight line between the pilasters.
The space between these pillars was four times the diameter of a
pillar, and was called Aredstylos.

(4.) The temple called Prdstylos, had four pillars on the front,
and two pilasters behind the two corner pillars. The distance
between the pillars was called Dzdstylos, and it was three times
the diameter of a pillar.

(5.) Amphiprostylos was a name given to a temple which had
four pillars on the back and front.

(6.) The temple called Peripteros had six pillars on the back
and front, but had thirteen pillars besides these (counting the
corner pillars), and a portico at the side. ‘The distance of these
pillars from the wall was the same as that between each pillar ;
and this width was called Eustylos, and was 2+ diameters of a
pillar.

(7.) The temple called Dipteros was ornamented by eight pillars
on both pediments, and had a portico with a double row of
pillars, fifteen in each row, on the long outward side of the temple.
The distance between the pillars was called Sgstylos ; that is, two
diameters of a pillar.

(8.) That called Pseudodipteros had, like the former temple,
eight pillars on both pediments ; but the portico only consisted of
one row of fifteen pillars, and the pillars were distant from the
wall twice the width of the distance between each pillar and the
diameter of a pillar.

(9.) Hyp@ethros was a temple that had ten pillars on the fore
and back pediments, and which had two rows of pillars on the
long outer side, which formed the portico. The distance be-
tween the pillars was called Pycndstylos, viz. 14 diameter.

(10.) That called Psewdoperipteros, had, like the Peripteros,
six pillars on both pediments, but no portico; that is, no pillars

Schell’s Landscape-Gardening. 499

on the side standing free from the walls, but they rather formed
part of it.

(11.) The round temples were of two kinds. The first was
called Mondpteros, because these temples had no walls, but had
free standing pillars, with spaces between, which could be seen
through.

(12.) The second kind of this temple was called Peripteros, with
eighteen or twenty pillars standing on a stylobate (as is the case
in the temples of Vesta at Tivoli and Rome), which is the third
part of the height of the pillar counting the shaft and the
chapiter, in a circle all round the temple, and which has the fifth
part of the whole temple from the outer wall of the cella in pro-
jection. ‘The interior diameter of the cella was the same as the
height of the pillars, reckoning the shaft and chapiter.

4, Vitruvius also distinguishes the five kinds of distances be-
tween the columns in the following manner : —

(1.) Eustylos, or beautiful-pillared, with 24 diameters of a
pillars.

(2.) Systylos had two similar diameters between.

_ (3.) Pycnostylos, near pillared, 14 diameter of a pillar.

(4.) Didstylos, 3 diameters.

(5.) Aredstylos, wide-pillared, or 4 diameters of a pillar be-
tween.

Some of these spaces are two narrow, and others too wide;
but, in applying them, we are not bound to abide by them.

I have only given those rules which Vitruvius prescribed for
the temples, to show the beginner in the art of gardening that it
is not so easy to plan and erect suitable architectural structures
in a garden; and that, before doing so, he ought to be well ac-
quainted with the relative proportions of buildings in this elevated
style; and to show him that, without studying the beautiful clas-
sical works of antiquity, he cannot give a faithful imitation of
them in his garden. He can learn more on the subject by
studying the works of Palladio, Durand (ecueil des Edifices an-
ciennes et modernes, Digodetz (Antiques de Rome), Clerissian, Wil-
kens, Revett, Stuart, Le Roy, &c.

_ 5. The architectural orders given to the temples that were
dedicated to the different gods were not the work of chance. On
the contrary, attention was often paid by the ancients, in the
construction of each temple, to the properties and achievements
ascribed to the god to whom it was to be dedicated. Round
temples were generally built to Apollo, Jupiter, Bacchus, Fauna,
Vesta, &c. ‘The Ionic order was given to the first four, and the
Corinthian order to the others. In the other temples, the purest
Doric order was given to Minerva, Mars, and Hercules; the
Corinthian to Flora, Venus, and the Muses; and the Ionic to

Juno, Diana, and Bacchus.
KK 3

500 Sckell’s Landscape- Gardening.

6. The following are the principal kinds of temples in the
Greek and Roman styles of architecture : —

(1.) The Propylaa at Athens, which had six Doric pillars,
supporting a pediment.

(2.) The temple of Minerva at Athens, which had eight
Doric columns, supporting a pediment, and, according to Vitru-
vius, belongs to Dipteros.

(3.) The temple of Theseus at Athens was Peripteros, and
had six Doric pillars in the front.

(4.) The Portico at Athens was likewise Doric, and had four
pillars, Prdstylos.

(5.) The temple of Apollo at Miletus had ten Ionic pillars in
front.

(6.) The temple of Bacchus at Teos had eight pillars, and
was Dipteros.

(7.) The temples of the sun at Balbec and Palmyra were of
the Corinthian order.

(8.) The temple of Jupiter Olympus at Athens had eight
Corinthian pillars, supporting a pediment, and was Dipteros.

(9.) The Pantheon of Adrian at Athens was also of the Co-
rinthian order, and had ten pillars in front. It was Hypethros.

(10.) The temple of Castor and Pollux, at Naples, had six
pillars of the Corinthian order in front, but without a portico,
and therefore was Pseudoperipteros.

(11.) The temple of Isis at Pompeii had four pillars in front.

(12.) The temple of Concord at Agrigentum, in Sicily, had
six short Grecian pillars, placed according to the Doric order,
and was Peripteros.

(13.) At Peestum the Greek proportions were also in the
Doric order ; viz. short pillars in front, and nearly five diameters in
height.

(14) The temple of Fortune in Rome (Fortuna virilis) had
four pillars of the Ionic order, and was Prostylos.

(15.) The temple of Antoninus and Faustus was of the Co-
rinthian order, and had six pillars, supporting a pediment.

(16.) The temple of Concord had six Ionic pillars, with a pe-
diment, and was composed of a mixed style. ‘This temple was
either Préstylos or Pseudoperipteros.

(17.) The temple of Jupiter Stator had eight Corinthian
pillars, and was Dipteros.

(18.) The temple of Jupiter Tonans had also eight pillars of
the Corinthian order, with a pediment, and was Dipteros.

(19.) The temple of Nero had twelve Corinthian pillars, sup-
porting a pediment.

(20.) The temple of Mars was Corinthian, and Dipteros.

(21.) The portico of Septimus Severus was also Sos
and had four pillars, and two corner pilasters.

Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 501

(22.) The temple of Neptune had eight Corinthian pillars,
with a pediment.

(23.) The Corinthian temple at Nismes (Maison carrée) had
six pillars, and was Pseudoperipteros.

(24.) The temple of Bacchus was of a round form.

(25.) The temple of Fauna, and

(26.) The temple of Vesta at Rome and Tivoli, the former of
which, as has been already mentioned, had twenty, and the latter
eighteen Corinthian pillars, which surrounded an enclosed cella,
were also of a round form, and were Peripteros.

(27.) The celebrated Ionic temple of Diana at Ephesus de-
serves to be mentioned, as, according to Pliny, the whole popu-
lation of the country was 200 years engaged in building it; it
was 425 ft. in breadth, and was ornamented with 127 pillars.

7. After the Greek and Roman styles of architecture comes
next the Gothic; and, although it is far inferior to the former in
systematic and regular proportions, it presents the most striking
and peculiar forms, beauty, and effects.

The Grecian style of architecture has a character of strength
and resistance, from its proportions, and that of the Romans has
its arches supported by colossal pillars; while the Gothic has
often slender pillars of only 2 or 3 feet in diameter, and yet 60 or
80 feet in height, supporting their arches high in the air, which
their spires, in spite of the storms of centuries, seem to pierce
through like spears. ‘This Gothic style of architecture seems
particularly adapted for buildings for Christian worship, and it
should, therefore, be adopted for chapels in gentlemen’s parks.
I must, however, warn the young landscape-gardener from em-
ploying the singular and tasteless style of Chinese architecture,
which ought hardly ever to be imitated, and, indeed, is better to
be omitted altogether. ‘The Arabian or Indian style of archi-
tecture is much more worthy of imitation. (See Danzel, Langles,
Niebuhr, &c.)

IV. The Situation of Temples in Pleasure-Grounds,

1. The spot selected for a temple should be considered a
matter of importance; and where the situation will permit, the
practice of the ancients should be adopted, of erecting temples
facing the east.

2. When a temple is erec ed to the beautiful, tender, and

lovely Cupid, Psyche, or Venus, it ought not to be situated in a
gloomy thicket, or in any place that is dull and uninviting. It
ought to be in the most cheerful and lively situation of the
garden, where Nature appears in her most attractive charms,

decorated with flowers and flowering shrubs; and where gently
KK 4

502 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening.

murmuring brooks seem to invite the feathered choir to assist
with their song in enlivening the consecrated spot.

3. The temples of Jupiter and Apollo should stand on gently
elevated situations, and the plantations around them should con-
sist of slender-growing trees that have a light and cheerful cha-
racter. A stream, like that of Hippocrene, should have its
source near the temple of Apollo, and around it should be a
grove dedicated to the Muses, and interspersed with flowering
shrubs.

4. The favourite abode of Diana was near the woods, and her
most favourite occupation was, hunting. A temple dedicated
to Diana should therefore be in a wood, as such a situation
would be the most suitable for this goddess.

5. Minerva is of great consideration in the arts and sciences.
A temple should therefore be dedicated to her in a most im-
portant situation, but the style of building should not be of a
dull melancholy character.

6. Temples dedicated to Neptune, Amphitrite, Galatea,
Thetis, or the Nereides, should be situated on islands, or on the
banks of lakes, ponds, or streams.

7. Mercury, the god of eloquence and commerce, the recon-
ciler of disputes, should have a temple dedicated to him on a
carriage road, or in the interior of a wood, near a dark-shaded
river, which may be supposed to be the Styx, and where he is
to appear as the attendant of the departed in Elysium.

8. The temple of Vesta should be on a piece of water, or on a
river in a sacred grove, such as the temple of Vesta at Rome,
which is situated on the banks of the Tiber.

9. The temple of Bacchus should be on a hill overlooking
vineyards; and the temple of Ceres, where a fine view can be
obtained of the neighbouring fields of corn.

10. ‘Temples dedicated to Hercules and Vulcan should stand
in situations where Nature displays herself powerful, and in bold
forms and masses, where piles of rocks have formed terrific
caves, and where ancient oaks are seen in abysses and on steep
declivities, as emblems of power and strength.

V. On the different Kinds of Trees, Shrubs, and Flowers, which were particu-
larly dedicated to the different Gods and Goddesses, and which should surround
their respective Temples, as Part of their Attributes.

The British oak (Quéreus Robur) and the common beech (Fagus
sylvatica) were sacred to Jupiter; they were also dedicated to
Ceres, Vesta, Rhea, Bacchus, and Sylvanus. The chaplet of
oak was the symbol of victory, and the oak tree itself the symbol
of power. The civic crown of the Romans was composed of
oak leaves, and poets and artists were honoured with wreaths of

Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 503

oak leaves. Oak groves were the first temples in which the
Germans, and also the British druids, performed religious cere-
monies. The palm tree (Phoe‘nix dactylifera) was also the symbol
of victory and peace, and sacred to wedded love, Apollo, and
the Muses.

The sweet bay (Zatrus nobilis), which ornamented the brow
of the conqueror, was also sacred to Apollo, as Daphne was
transformed, when flying from that god, into a bay tree; and:
the pythoness, or priestess of the oracle of Apollo at Delphos,
decorated herself with a wreath of bay leaves, when she appeared
on the tripod. A similar wreath was the ornament of the Muses.
/Esculapius and Hygeia, the goddess of health, were also crowned
with a wreath of bay.

The myrtle (Myrtus communis) was dedicated to Venus, Ceres,
the Graces, and other divinities.

The Scotch fir (Pinus sylvéstris) was the symbol of the re-
turning and inexhaustible productive power of the earth, and,
therefore, dedicated to Cybele, and also to Rhea. The cones
of this tree were offered in sacrifice to them.

The silver fir (Picea excélsa), and the larch (Zarix europze'a),
were dedicated also to Vulcan, Neptune, Faunus, and Pan; to
the latter the rush was also dedicated.

The cones of the pines and firs ornamented the ends of the
rod, or thyrsus, of the bacchanals in the train of Bacchus, at
the festivals of that god.

The cypress (Cupréssus sempervirens), also, was planted on
graves; and it was under it that Orpheus lamented the death
of Eurydice. It was on the elm that Diana first tried her
arrow; and it, with the dark alder (d’lnus glutindsa), was
dedicated to the Eumenides, or Furies. The three Heliades,
or daughters of the sun, Lampetia, Phaethusa, and Aigie, who
wept for their brother Phaethon, who was killed by the lightning
of Jupiter, were changed into poplars; and as this tree, like the
cypress, is of a pyramidal form, and stands our climate quite
well, whereas the other does not, it should be planted on graves
or among monuments. ‘This tree was also dedicated to Her-
cules and Mercury. The mountain ash (Pyrus aucuparia) was
also planted on graves by the ancients, because it was considered
famous for sanctity. When this tree is seen growing in the
clefts of rocks, or hanging in a slanting direction over venerable
ruins, it produces a fine romantic effect.

The weeping willow (Salix babylonica) is particularly adapted
for tombs. ‘This tree, on account of its almost perpendicularly
drooping branches, has a peculiar character of melancholy ; and,
among all trees, is therefore, perhaps, almost the only one
which the most touchingly expresses the pain of temporary
separation, as it has not the gloomy melancholy character of the

504. Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening.

cypress or the yew, and it is therefore often a pleasant object in
gardens, and particularly adapted for murmuring streams.

The weeping birch (Bétula alba péndula), and the deciduous
cypress (Z'axodium distichum), have somewhat of the same cha-
racter of melancholy and sorrow, as their branches hang down
like those of the weeping willow. They should, ther efore, be ap-
plied in the same manner.

e The cedar of Lebanon (Cédrus Libani), the queen of trees,
is said to have furnished the timber of the temple of Solomon,
that of Diana at Ephesus, and several others. The wooden-
work of marriage beds was made of this tree, as a symbol of
purity and constancy. This tree was sacred to the Eumenides.

The yew (74xus baccata) was, with the poppy and the saffron,
dedicated to Ceres. This tree was very much used in the
ancient symmetrical style of gardening, where it was spoiled by
the use of the shears, being clipped into the most unnatural and
laughable forms. Its character is gloomy and melancholy ; and it
should, therefore, only be planted in such situations in the natural
garden as are wished to have an expression of melancholy and

oneliness.

The plane tree (Platanus orientalis) was dedicated to Genius.
A temple, or a pantheon, erected to learned men and heroes,
and in which their busts ought to be placed, should stand in
a grove of Platanus.

It was under the lime tree (Yilia europz‘a) that the merry
rustic youth assembled ; and this tree was also often used as a
remembrance of a victory gained, or of any great event that had

taken place. It was sacred to Venus. ‘The son of William
Tell, the Swiss, is said to have stood under a lime tree
when his father shot the apple on his head. Baucis was changed
into a lime tree.

The arrows of love spoken of by the poets were made from
the wood of the ash (fraxinus excélsior) : this tree may there-
fore be planted in the background of a temple dedicated to
Cupid. The ash and the quitch grass (Z’riticum répens) were
also dedicated to Mars.

The birch, or May tree ( Bétula alba), is dedicated to love and
friendship in the month of May: a temple, therefore, when
dedicated to these noble feelings, should be surrounded by the
birch, as a symbol of love and friendship.

The fruit of the apple tree (Pyrus Malus) was an emblem of
the earth, and the attribute of perfection and beauty, and there-
fore dedicated to Venus, because this prize was adjudged to her
by Paris. The apple tree is also the attribute of Hercules,
because, in mythological fable, he overcame the dragon which
guarded the golden apples in the garden of the Hesperides.

The pear tree (Pyrus communis) belonged to Minerva.

Measurement, &c., of Trees at Blair-Drummond. 505

The quince (Cydonia vulgaris). Its fruit is often considered
to be the apples of the Hesperides. It is the attribute of good
fortune, love, and fruitfulness, and was sacred to Venus and
Hercules.

The cherry tree (Cérasus vulgaris). When a temple is dedi-
cated to Pomona, this and the foregoing fruit trees, with
their different species, should be planted round it, to form a
shade.

The walnut (Juglans régia) was sacred to Jupiter. It was
the custom in ancient times to strew the walnuts about at mar-
riages, so that Jupiter might take the newly married couple
under his protection.

The mulberry tree (Morus alba) was the symbol of activity.
The tenderly loving Pyramus and Thisbe died under a mulberry
tree.

The cornel tree (Cornus mascula) was dedicated to Apollo.

The sweet chestnut tree (Castanea vésca) was sacred to
Jupiter.

‘The almond tree (A4Amygdalus communis), on account of the
earliness of its flowering, was considered an emblem of activity.

The peach tree (Pérsica vulgaris) was sacred to Harpocrates,
the god of silence.

The pomegranate (Pinica Granatum) was an emblem of the
beauty and fulness of the earth, and it was sacred to Proserpine.

The fig tree (Ficus Carica) was sacred to Bacchus, Saturn,
and Mercury, and the symbol, also, of fruitfulness.

The olive tree (Olea europze'a) was an attribute of Minerva,
and the emblem of peace. The leaves of this tree were fre-
quently used in the Corinthian capital instead of those of the
acanthus.

The vine (Vitis vinifera) was consecrated to Bacchus, and
also to Juno, as the protectress of marriage. When the vine is
seen twisting round elm trees, and loaded with grapes, it gives
the expression of wedded love, concord, and fruitfulness.

( To be continued. )

ART. VII. Measurement, Age, &c., of Trees at Blair-Drummond,
Scotland. By JAMEs DrumMMonpD, Gardener at Blair-Drummond.

In the year 1836, I measured the height, girt, and spread of
the branches of a few of the trees growing in the park of Blair-
Drummond, near Stirling, the property of Henry Home Drum-
mond, Esq., the particulars of which are given in the following
table, together with a statement of their age, as near as can
be ascertained, soil, subsoil, exposure, &c.

—

G9 O6T 3 =e i.

“JOM | - - yaarrg | - - wieoy fei | - - - selq | £S 0 6 0 OL|O 6
“am |- = eaery|- - weode|- - - ey | sr |O 8 |9 11}0 o1|o9 | oat | - (exanrenyL) omry
“Aq | - - yearig | - - wreo, Apueg | - = ysom-yynog | OF | & OL | & OL}; O OG | O4 OGL | ~ Se a a
“hig | - - yoarrg | - - wweo Apurg | - - - alg | OF | 8 | 4 8 | 0 OF | OL O6T | ~ Te 0% hare
‘hig | - = yoarrg | - - weo Apurg | - - - aalq | OF IIgs |S 6 |0 O@| GZ OGI | ~ pe oe rat
“Aq. | - = yoaetg | - - wieo, Apueg | - = S alt | 06 | 9 8 | O18 |O FE} &8 ost | ~ (srayspayAs snutg) our
‘Auql | -Jeaeis ysnoy | = wreop aa 3ysty| - = - arg | 99 | 018 | 6 OL|O S&T | 28 Ost | (s01s|goxe snuixpiy ) ysy
“Aiq | -Jeavs3 ySnoy | - weojeeywysry|- - - seq| sr 124 8 |¢ 6 |o 11] 6L | Oar | ~ C@uejuou snulp ), —
“Aig | - - yaarrg | - - wieo] Apueg | - - yodseyyn0g|/ 0g | 4 9 |O0 £4 |0 OT | OL 09 (sryspduieo smu) ) Wy
hiq | -JeaerS ysnoy | - ureoy vary yyusrT | - - - sag | OF 8 6 I IL|o ot| g¢ OZI - -_ = _
- - snueye[g-op
‘Aig, | -yeaeiS ysnoy | - urteoy aaaz sty | - - - srg | GL | § Gt|O 91/0 9 | 08 OSI | ean 100 7 Jorouwokg
“JSTOTAT | - 11 PISO | ~ - wieo, Apurg | - sepis [[# uo pesezeyg | 0G Oo 2 OI £ 4 86 OOT 2 = eee ye
*qSIOJAT | - 1 Prod | - - weo] Apueg | -sepis [[@ uo pesezeyg | OF II 8 6 6 s3 86 OOT a = ee ==
“STOTT | = I Pleo | - - wWeol Apueg - sopis [JB UO pazasfayg | 0G - 8 b 6 Da 86 OOL 2 pe? ian eae
StOTNG is TI} PI°D | = - wreo] Apueg | -septs [je uo perozeyg | 0G fi Pe, 8 8 S OOT OOT (stunuroios xI1e7 ) Yo1e'T
(sueqni-orze Baliye
‘Jou royyey | - 11 pred | - - weo, Apueg | - - = wyynog| co \s 9 | 2 9 | 0 9 | 0G 090105 oe “Z) yooaq efding
- UAT, JaATI oy} JO
Aap Ayeig | -jeaerS ySnoy | - - wieor Apueg Jeg aivabsaqpeogoay ¢ Ww We Bile Sill @ @ | fy O61
"Arq | -yeaers ysnoy} - - weoj Apueg|- - - aig | OL |9 SI |6 1/0 6 | $9 Ost eS oe =
*Aiqy | - jeavsS ySnoy | - - weo, Apueg | - - - aaiq | OL 9 SI |6 #110 TIL] O4 O6T 7 = Meme aie
-Aiq_ | - joaerS ySnoy | - - ureo, Apueg | - = soay ApTVAN | 09 & 1} OL S61 | 0 OG! 06 OST 2 Sires =>
‘iq. | -yaavs3 ySnoy | - - wteoy Apueg| - -q pue“N gee} or | 1 sr|s 21/9 6 | oor | oar | ~(enpardssndez) yooog
Aig] | -yeavas ySnoy | - = -~weoy Apueg} - =~ ay! $9 | 9 OL|F GI |O st] LA Od) Rae ernie ak ae
“Arq | -jaaerS ySnoy | - - wieoy fpueg| - 2 - ae1,q | O09 I If! Gt|]0O SL] 24 OGI 3 pees. rie
oN OUye | 1 PIod| - = -_—~sweop Apueg} - ——- ysea-y}0N' | O9 | 8 GI | O FI |0O 0G | 98 Ost |- - (snorgnd ) xO
iS) aI S jap °
aE efE| BQ | Bo | = | 23] B28
82 220 so Sa > o2| Sau d
we *losqng [log ‘ainsod xq ge8 an ae S ee ze 2 Becpnee uo Sieadetouta
“2 Bee| 35 | ge | # | Sa! Be
* Olle eh ean = Ba} ot

BANODTOOr ©

_ *TOqQuIN NL

OJUI SapIAIp 991} INU[eM ay, *a3ep aAoge ayy
SulAvaq 2u0}squio} 9y} “UdAP[IYO 11a} JO aa1y} pue ‘Apey sty ‘yuequing jo JYsSN] 951094) ATS “10}a11do1d uay} oY} Jo Quo] ay) SsULYAAO 41 punoae Surmoas asou} se aSv auivs U7 JO A[surweaes ‘9013
gnujem a31e[ & Set /FOT Ul UOTe}ISIA BY} BA0Jaq pajuL[d Usaq aAeY ysnu pur ‘yaed ay3 Jo Arepunog ay puodag ‘puomuni-s1e[gq JO 93389 944 UO ‘yUequANg 4e SuIMoIS s9aq} o1e "8G 0} Ze “SON »:

"dug | - = A) | = TerAn Te gory || = bg = REMONT| —=— G = = es é © z = ANN SIA | ES
‘kiq.| - - auoyspueg | - - weoy s01q | - - - a17 | 09 |0 SL!|0O O08 | 0 O@ | &8 2 - = = = Lg
“Aq. | > ouo}spueg | = - WIPO] x17 | - 3 = sal | 96 8 IIT /8 SI]|]0O OG} 88 é ce! = = 901} USW | 9G
“AiqY| - - euoyspueg | - - wreopeerg|/- - - vag] 96 |0 B1/0 St!o #3] 09 i - = = — agoureakg | gg

“due | - - AepQ)) - Tos yeranyye yory | - = 2 eg] 8h |0O 9 |}O0 410 ¢ | OS é o - - aot} wag | $g

‘dug |- - Avg) - pos yermnyeyory|- - - eg] sh |3 6 |6 6 | 0 0G] sz d - (staysoayAs ‘q’) 14 yoyoog | ¢¢

‘dueq|> - Ajj] - prosyernye yoy} - - - aq | Sb | 4 I1|0 SL] 0 9 | OZ d - (e1Ser suepsne) nue, |4ZS
“Aiq| - pues ysnoy|- - puesaysry)- - - wynog| sr |9 6 |6 6 | sex | OF |Ogo}oF|- - - aepao poy | rg
"hig | - pues ysnoy | - - pues y4SI7 | - = qsam-yyno0g | OG | - $3/001 94} | deau 0S |09010F { a (eoruezisny 0S
"hig. | - pues ysnoy | - - pues 34817 | - - yS8M-YINOG | GF 2 wjoay peyouetg || oo | OF 070F| | snunsz )feaney, [esnyaog 6h
"kiq. | .- pues ysnoy | - - puessysiy|- - - ynog}/ et }o s |e s | sx | oF |ogoor {: - — (syequepro \ oF
“Arq | ~ pues ysnoy)- - pues ys | - - > yynog] Zr |}O § | O + | 4x i] Ge |OG00F| L-00 efnyz ) 231A a0qr,y J | 1F
“hig [eaves “UISNIIOT = o pues qYSvT - - - YWON | 9S 9 § O F do} 0} sade} oF 0G 010% - uourqgay jo Jepag | 9F
‘Aiq.| = pues suong)- = puesoung]- - - wymog/ sr |6 6 |0 * |0 9 | sy jognop|- - — “- SF

egg SE || S| = EE GS 18 6 1O GF |O 8 Ge | wal jo 92 = — BP
hiq|- -- -~pPAvagi} - = = ~meopApueg} - -— - eet | 9 |6 § | OLS |0 9 | gg Ost | -(wuntpoyinbp xaz,7) Ato | ge
“AIG 2 = pueg | - - pues surg | - = S Yon | O¢ 6 Gg 6 9 O FI} g9 090405 | - — = — ia
“Arq | - > purg);- - — pues surg | - = - YON] 0S | OL | 9 9 |O BI} 09 |09030¢ \(eosaa -Q)ynUjyseyo Ystuedg | [Fp

‘dueq | - - Apueg} - - yead kpueg | - aoejd paroyoys moyT | O9 | 6 8 | F OL | OL 91 | OL OL - - = = OF

‘duwq|- - Apueg|- - 4yvad Apueg| - aoxjd possyeys mot | cg | % Of | 3 11|0 ZI | 09 |oL009;- - — — 68

‘dueq | - 119 PlOD | - = =“ Weoy Apueg] - - - yon | sp |9 8 |S 6 | 0 06] 249 | Oot |- (eqre emag) youg | gg
“POM | ~ Peee OS Ie - yead Apurg | -sapis [je uo pasaypyg | sh | 0 8 19 6 \1eo 19 |090309 | - co = —_ LS
PM |" = pues) - = _avad Apueg | - sapis [Ie uo passyjoyg | 6 | 0 4 | 9 2 |[=8s3}| 09 |o90;0g;- - — — 96
SOUR TERE RS SE UO Rees] Se OPENS Ge iz 8 PO Geese hO) OneNGr |= = Ss
Ae IN) OTN erie i SO eo 18 G Weasel Gee fo 8 == — rs
*hiq | - - jasen | - - wel yng} - - ysam-Yynog | 1g & 8 9 OL] 0O OT | GF O6T (‘uiu109°F) aonads AeALON | SE

[ OA | - - yearin | - - — WIkOT FIG | eosy ‘punoss Surs[-moqT | OG |9 8 |6 8 | 0 OF | G6 = 2 2 i Sa GS
WOM | - Apueg | pues pur yj1va ywag | - AO] “ysea-yyn0g| 09 | 6 6 | 9 OL | [| 901 | 09 - (e[nui9s4 gq) 9013 uedsy | 1g
"Aig | - [eavrs {peug | - = pues peaq | - punoa [je peresjaqg | oT TG 6 G ree L& GG { - (sngo1s' 0s

“4SIOTAL | - 11? PIod | - - wieor Apueg | sxay30 Aq popunosing | gp ®» 2 |B 2 ic} SL O6T snuty )aurg qynourse jy 66
“hig | = - yeartg | - - wieo] Apueg | - = 2 yynog | SP G 11/6 If GL o > “petieees —— 86

*dureq, | - 4901 op pay | _- ureoy Aepo umorg | - - ysea-qiion | os | 6 4 | 4 4 || 2 98 eS} - ———— — LG

‘dug | - 401 ‘op poy | - wieoj Aejoumoiq|- - ysva-y}JON | 96 6 L 6 8 S fog = - a — 9.

508 Culture of Timber Trees.

The following are a few measurements taken of the girt at
31ft. from the ground, in August 1841; and will show how much
has been added to their girts, at that height, between 1836 and
1841: —

Number 1: Girt 13 ft. 5in. = - - added 9 in.
4, Girt 16 ft. 1 in. - - added 1 ft.
10. Girt 8 ft. 3 in. - - added 8 in.
11. Girt 8 ft. 9 in. - - added 5 in.
12. Girt 9 ft. 4 in. - - added 5 in.
14. Girt 15 ft. 10 in. - - added 7 in.
19. Girt 9 ft. 2 in. - - added 8 in.
30. Girt 2 ft. 6 in. - - added 5 in.
31. Girt 10 ft. 3 in. - - added 6 in.
41. Girt 6 ft. 3 in. - - added 5 in.
42. Girt 6 ft. 2 in. - - added 5 in.
52. Girt 11 ft. 10 in. - - added 3 in.

Measured the girt at 34 ft. from the ground of _a few larches
growing in a light sandy soil, south aspect, August 1831; age
about 60 years. One was 8 ft. 2 in., another 7 ft. 8 in., and
another 7 ft. 6 in. Silver firs in the same place, and same age,
8 ft. 9 in., another 8 ft. 7 in., another 8 ft. Measured a moun-
tain ash on the side of the east approach; girt at 34 ft. from the
ground 5 ft. 5 in., whole height 40 ft., spread of branches 33 ft. ;
another, girt 5 ft., length of bole 6 ft., spread of branches 24 ft.,
and height 50 ft. Measured a hawthorn; girt at 33 ft. from the
ground, 6 ft. 6 in., bole 4 ft. 6 in., whole height 45 ft.. spread
of branches 45 ft.

Art. VIII. On the Culture of Timber Trees. By G. L. L.

Havine lately noticed various communications in the journals
devoted to our department of science, from different celebrated
English arboriculturists, containing a vast amount of useful in-
formation on the planting and rearing of timber trees, I have
been induced to cast my mite into the national treasury of
knowledge, well aware that there is infinitely greater happiness in
imparting knowledge, than in burying it within our own breasts.
From my boyhood to the present moment, I have uninter-
ruptedly continued to cherish a great dislike to the general ap-
pearance of our hard woods, or what are commonly termed
deciduous forest trees, particularly in their state of nudity,
whether as solitary specimens, in groups, or in forest plantations.
In the two latter cases, owing to the want of timely and proper
pruning, the branches are often very unequal, and rob the.
trunk of much of its sustenance; besides this evil, they are fre-
quently as fantastically anfractuous as the taste of the ablest
rustic-building carpenter can possibly desire ; and they invariably |

Culture of Timber Trees. 509

exhibit, from every point of view, such a reticulated mass of irre-
gularity and confusion, as must ever be intolerable to those who
have witnessed them in the opposite condition.

As single specimens in pleasure-grounds or in park scenery,
nature may be allowed to frolic sometimes absolutely unre-
strained ; but in forest plantations, where timber or remuneration
is the desired aim, art must be called in. My intention at
present is merely to give a few hints on a method I never saw
yet fully carried out in this country, but which is successfully
practised in Belgium. The public roads of that country, except
the railroads which are of recent construction, have always been
much admired by foreign travellers for their beautiful appear-
ance, there being generally a row of trees on each side.

The trees, whether oak, ash, elm, poplar, or others, are taken
from the nursery when they are 15 ft. or more in height, and
about the thickness of a man’s arm; the lateral branches are
all cut off at from 3in. to 6in. from the stem, and of course
close above a bud: if the lower ones have not been previ-
ously cut clean off for from 5 ft. to 7 ft. from the roots, they
are cut off now; the top is also cut off ina slanting direction,
at about 10 ft. from the roots. The trees are taken up in March
and April, without balls of earth; and not remarkably carefully,
but precisely after -the ordinary manner practised in our nur-
series, and they are planted in holes about 3 or 4 feet square,
The first year they grow but little; the second year they may be
said to commence their growth, when the uppermost shoot is
trained for the leader. As the tree progresses, it is pruned
every year, if necessary, in winter or early in spring, cutting
out all the cross and unequal branches, and thinning those that
are or may become crowded. At first, the upper part of the
tree is got at by means of a step-ladder; but as soon as it be-
comes stout enough, the pruner ascends by the assistance of a
cord and climbing spurs. These spurs are fastened on by means
of leather straps, which pass round the leg, and are attached to
an iron rod reaching from the stirrup of the spur, up the outside
of the leg, to near the knee. Securing the hatchet in a belt
round his waist, and passing the cord round the stem, the pruner
climbs the loftiest trees with apparently the greatest ease, and
cuts out all crooked and useless branches, which are pointed out
by the foreman or superintendant, who stands on the ground
below. The climbing appears to do no serious injury to
the trees, the laceration in the bark being small, and almost
immediately healing over.

It is astonishing how well the leading shoots of the decapitated
trees blend with the older stem. I believe there would be found
some difficulty in making any one, who was ignorant of the fact,
believe that the beautiful straight-stemmed trees along the road
sides, boulevards, &c., in that country, had their tops cut off when

510 Cultivation of the Cacti.

they were planted ; but, by very close inspection, the joint may
be discovered in all of them, by the bark being smoother, and a
little more shining than that on the other parts: the scar may be
said to become entirely obliterated in twenty years.

This treatment causes the trees to present a more fastigiate
and uniform appearance, than if they had been left unpruned ;
the branches are also much slenderer than they otherwise would
have been; but when the object is to obtain straight and fine
timber, it may be safely adopted.

September 10. 1841.

Art. IX. Observations and Reflections on the Cultivation of the
Cactz. By Freperick OTTo.

(Translated from the Garten Zeitung, Jan. 2. 1841, p. 1.)

TueEreE has already been so much written in this periodical on
the cultivation of the Cacti, that it might be thought that every
thing relating to this group of plants was thoroughly known, and
the subject: almost exhausted. But this is not the case; and a
great deal not yet made known remains to be investigated.

In almost every garden where the Cacti are cultivated, a
different method is followed; and it is always that which the
cultivator finds to be the most suitable and effectual in pro-
moting the growth and vigour of his plants. _ It is true that, for
the cultivation of this family, there is, up to the present
moment, no general rule which seems to be commonly received
every where. According to the latest accounts of the most
recent travellers and collectors, the Mexican mammillarias are
found in such a variety of situations, and in such different soils
(as may frequently be seen by the earth attached to the roots of
the original plants when they first come over), that a great deal
more attention should be paid to their soil than has unfor-
tunately been the case hitherto. Many of the species are found
on lime, chalk, and the fragments of stones or rocks that have
become broken by the action of the atmosphere; and among
these may be mentioned the mammillarias discovered in Mexico
in 1840, and lately brought here, called M. Parkinsonzz Ehrenb.
and M. Schlechtendalzz, both of which were found growing on
a chalky range of hills in Mexico, near San Onofre im Mineral
del Doctor; and according to the Linnea, vol. xiv. p. 375., M.
Humbéldtzz is also found on a chalky range of hilis between
Yzmiquilpan and Mestitlan. Echinocactus turbiniformis seems
wedded (so to speak) to bare and precipitous rocks; and the
Ariocarpus retusus flourishes on a moory soil, where it is always
moist. Were all these plants, therefore, put in a soil that the
gardener might fancy was congenial to them, it stands to reason
that they could not grow, as such a treatment would be totally
against their nature. If he try to excite the roots by a change

Cultivation of the Cacti. 51k

of soil, or by putting the plants in a hotbed full of vapour, he
will not succeed; and unfortunately too many gardeners fall
into this error, and by this means ‘the best and rarest plants,
which have been preserved during a long voyage, have been
totally lost by a wrong mode of culture.

_ Where Nature cannot be imitated exactly, the most earnest
wish of the gardener should be to approach her as near as pos-
sible, and in this consists the great art of the cultivator.

The different kinds of soils are not alone necessary for the
growth of the plants: situation and temperature must also be
taken into consideration. For some years back collections of
mammillarias, from whatever parts of the world they came,
were grown in our hothouses, and many of them are still kept
there. The West Indian species, such as M. simplex, prolifera,
and straminea, which have been long in our possession, and
which really require a greater degree of heat than those from
Mexico, probably gave us the idea. We do not take into con-
sideration, that almost all the species brought to us in modern
times from Mexico belong to our tepidaria, and therefore
require a temperature of from 6° to 8° of Reaumur (45°5° to 50°
Fahr.), so as to produce a healthy and vigorous state of vege-
tation, and some of the species even do better with a less degree
of heat. A great many examples might here be given of the
alterations that are produced in the form and habit of the mam-
millarias from Mexico, by their being placed in hothouses; and
it is from this circumstance, that those plants that have been
raised from seed, or by other means, in Europe, have not the
least resemblance to the parent plant, and are therefore received
in the trade as new species: indeed, in some instances, the most
skilful connoisseurs and the best botanists have been often
deceived with these plants. As is the case with most other
plants, this family is subject to sport, and these sports we re-
ceive in great numbers from their native country: other plants,
again, of the same family, which have been kept in an over-
heated temperature, are hardly to be recognised, and thus errors
are propagated, arising from an impossibility of distinguishing
the species or variety. If we contemplate the host of varieties
of the division Conothéle, which we have partly from their
native country and partly from plants raised in Europe, it will
confirm this statement.

It may be seen from this, that the Mexican mammillarias,
with a few exceptions, should be grown in a much lower tempe-
rature than has hitherto been done. To prepare them for it,
they should be planted in beds in the open air, so that they may
become strong, and remain there till late in the autumn; and it
is only thus that the natural habit and peculiar character of the
plant can be obtained. When treated in this manner, they

1841.— X. 3d Ser. LL

512 Cultivation of the Cécti.

flower plentifully, and produce an abundance of fruit ; and they are
not infested by insects, which is unavoidably the case in hothouses.

These are the advantages which are obtained from a success-
ful treatment of this favourite genus of plants. Many gardens
now possess a very perfect collection by following this plan.

The Melocacti, on the contrary, require a higher degree of
temperature, and therefore ought to be in the hothouse. Most
of them come from the West Indies, Curacoa, St. Thomas’s,
&c. There are several varieties in this group, which approach,
more or less, to the Melocactus communis. Whether they are
all to be considered as varieties must be, from careful considera-
tion, afterwards determined. Most of the original plants evince
by their roots that they grow in a red loamy and stony soil; and
these, in my opinion, should also be cultivated as I have mentioned.

The Echinocacti require somewhat more heat than the mam-
millarias, yet they may be cultivated in beds in the open air in
summer. In winter they should be kept in a temperature of 8°
or 10° of Reaumur (50° to 54°5° Fahr.), and ought to have but
very little water; and if they have taken firm root in summer,
they may be kept quite dry, and will not be in any danger.
From this necessary state of rest, a profusion of flowers will be
produced on the plants.

Many doubts still exist as to the species of Cereus, as they
vary so much both in their habit, and spine and angular forma-
tion; and the situations in which they are found do not seem to
make any exception in this respect. A recent traveller and
collector informed me that he found from four to six different
forms on the same stem, so different that even the greatest con-
noisseur would have supposed each separate branch to have been
another species; and his specimens confirmed the assertion.

The genus Cereus, with the exception of some species, flowers
more sparingly than those of Mammillaria and Echinocactus ;
but, from an improved method of cultivation in modern times,
many species have been brought into flower that were formerly
not expected. Most of the species may be cultivated in the
open air, in a protected sunny situation, in summer; and it is
better if they can be on beds that have a little bottom heat at
first; and this can easily be effected in gardens where there is
plenty of leaves and manure, as pits can be dug, and these
materials put in, and then covered with earth, and the plants
sunk into it. ‘They grow extremely well in this manner, are
much stronger, and look a great deal better, than when they are
continually standing in a hothouse. Several species of Mexican
Cereus can be kept through the winter in a moderately heated
greenhouse. ‘Those alluded to are such as C. chilénsis, cine-
rascens, pentalophus, ovatus, articulatus, Martidnws, flagriformis,
Mallisonz, Smithzz, Schrank77, coccineus, Ackermannz, &c., with
all the varieties of C. speciosissimus, &c.

Culture of Nelambium speciosum. 513

Our knowledge of the numerous group of the flat-branched
Opuntiz is much too limited at present to enable us to determine
the species ; but we hope, in time, to establish a system, and
particularly for those gardens where this tribe of plants is culti-
vated. What a difference between an Opantia which has been
grown in the open air in summer, and one which has been kept
in a hothouse! ‘The difference is, indeed, so great, that it is
hardly to be believed. ‘The most effectual manner of cultivating
them, in winter, is to take great care not to keep them too warm,
and to see that their growth may not be accelerated, as a stag-
nation in vegetation should, if possible, be effected in the
plants. As soon as the weather is favourable in spring, and
strong frosts no longer dreaded, they should be set out in the
open air, in a warm protected situation, and treated in every
respect as much as possible like the genus Céreus. Bottom heat,
however, is not necessary for them in the open air, as they
thrive better without it; the different species assuming a more
distinct character, and having a greater profusion of flowers.

How very different, also, are the O. glomeratee, grown in the
open air in summer, and in the cold greenhouse in winter, to
those that have been continually in a hothouse, the temperature
of which is not natural to them. ‘The same may be said of O.
cylindracea, and particularly O. tunica, excuviata, imbricata,
Stapelza, and decipiens. ‘The first mentioned never has a stem
in its native country or in our cold greenhouses, but has, on the
contrary, a full branchless cespes, in the form of a hedgehog.
This appearance is not uncommon, even on specimens from their
native country; but their natural form and character are de-
stroyed by an injudicious mode of culture in our houses.

Most of the species from North America, from Mexico,
Chili, and the South of Kurope, may be kept through the winter
without fear of danger, by putting them in a temperate dry
greenhouse. If put in a hothouse for the winter, they will soon
become sickly, from attacks cf the scale and other insects.
Dr. L. Pfeiffer’s description and synonymes of the living Cacti
in the German gardens point out the native country of every
species of Cacti, and should, therefore, be used as a guide by
every cultivator.

Art. X. On the Culture of the splendid Lake Rose, Nelumbium
specidsum Willd. By M. Lusrckx, Garden Director to Count
Harrach, at Bruck on the Leitha.

(Translated from the Verhandlungen, §c., Berlin, vol. ii. p. 387.)

Tus beautiful water-plant, so well known in the East and West

Indies, Persia, and in China, where it is the ornament of the
LL 2

514 Culture of Nelambium spectosum.

lakes and pieces of water in gardens, not even suffering from the
severest cold in Pekin, was introduced into England in 1784, by
the celebrated Sir Joseph Banks, where, after being cultivated
for a long time, it was first flowered in 1797, by Mr. Liptard, at
Mile-end; and in 1804, the second time, at the well known and
celebrated Sir Charles Greville’s, at Paddington, whence seeds
were imported to this garden.

My first attempts at rearing these beautiful water-plants were
very unsuccessful for several years, although I followed the
English method. The seeds were put in leaden four-cornered
vessels, half-filled with the muddy slime from the river, and sunk
in a tan-bed. It is true they germinated, and even throve very
well throughout the summer, but the very strongest of them
perished in winter. I therefore concluded that, although these
plants require a hothouse in our climate, a tan-bed is Het only
unnecessary, but even destructive. In order, therefore, to suc-
ceed in cultivating these splendid plants, so valuable on account
of their height, and the large shield-like form of their leaves, I
adopted the following method. As the seeds of these plants
germinate the best when they have been kept a long time (the
germinating power being very long retained), I took some that
had been kept several years, and after having gently opened them
at the point, so as to admit of the entrance of water to assist in
germination, I put them in a wide-mouthed glass, containing about
a quart of river water, and set it on the eae very near the wincoon
When there was fine weather with sunshine, the seeds germinated
in the course of a fortnight or three weeks, but sees the sun
does not shine, the glass may be sunk in the tan-bed, taking care,
however, that river water that has been standing in the house
be poured over it very frequently. As soon as the germ appears
over the glass, it ought to be taken out and planted. ‘The first
pot chosen for this purpose should be a stock-gillyflower pot,
somewhat deep, with the hole at the bottom well stopped up, and
a layer of gravel and loam, of about 1 in. thick, put over it.
The pot is then half-filled with rich slimy mud, and the best
is that in which the common Nymphee‘a alba and N. lutea grow.
The germinated plant is now put in rather near the edge of the
pot, and set on the shelf near the window, and the remaining
space in the pot is filled with the kind of water already mentioned.
It should remain thus without further treatment (except water
being poured over it from time to time) till winter, when it be-
gins to become dormant by degrees ; and as soon as this is the
case less water should be given, only so as to keep it in a moist
slimy condition; and it should then be set at some distance from
the window, to pass the winter. About the beginning of March,
the germinating plant should be put in a larger and somewhat
deeper pot, prepared in the manner prescribed ‘above; great care

Culture of Nelambium speciosum. 515

being taken in removing it, that the germ of the principal root
be not injured; and as much of the ball of earth round the root
should be preserved as possible. It should be placed in the same
situation in summer as in winter. When, by this treatment, [
had kept the plants for two years most successfully through the
winter, and the pot was full of roots, I found it necessary, in the ~
third year, to put it in a larger vessel before flowering ; a round
tub of oak, fir, or larch is the best, an earthenware one will
not do. ‘The tub, 2 ft. high, and 1 ft. 6 in. wide, was pre-
pared in the following manner. If it is quite new, it ought first
to be seasoned by having something burned in it: the bottom
should then be covered about 4 or 5 inches deep with a layer of
gravel and loam, and over this should be placed a layer of 7
or 8 inches deep of the mud in which the nympheas grow, as
above described; but when that is not to be had, the rich mud
from ponds and rivers in which several water-plants are found,
such as Ceratophyllum demérsum and the different kinds of
potamogetons, is the most desirable. ‘The plant should now be
put in the tub thus prepared, taking the greatest care to preserve
the ball of earth, and it should be placed in a very light situation,
as near the window as possible, the empty space of the tub being
filled up with water by degrees, and a fresh supply of it kept up
throughout the summer. Although the large leaves were now
more than | ft. in diameter, and the stem more than 5 ft.
above the surface of the water, no flower-buds made their ap-
pearance. As the plant seemed to require deeper water, and
as further transplanting might be attended with danger, I
formed the resolution of placing the tub in a larger one in
spring, which was about 3 in. wider and 6 in. deeper; and to
prevent any injury being sustained by the flower buds in re-
moving the water from the tub, I had a cock put in about half
the height of the outer one; the water was thus carefully drawn
off into a watering-pot, and used for watering other plants, a fresh
supply being daily put in its place. This method proved so suc-
cessful, that a flower-bud made its appearance about the middle
of July, deep under the water; and by the 16th of August the
flower-stalk had attained the height of 6 ft. above the surface
of the water, and far above the leaves. ‘The following morning
the first flower was expanded, but not completely so; it closed
again at noon, and it was only in the mornings of the second and
third day that this splendid flower was displayed for the first time
(as far as I know) on the Continent in all its splendour. It has
flowered every year since, and has produced perfectly ripe seed.
I cannot forbear to mention here, that, whenever this splendid
plant is grown in a large hothouse of moderate heat, it should be
in a large basin, and the form ought undoubtedly to be round ;
as the strong principal root, from which the leaf and flower buds
: LL 3

516 Propagation of the Dahlia.

proceed, has very much the resemblance of that of the Arando
Phragmites, which is always found round the edge of the vessel,
and therefore sustains no injury from opposition. In such a
place it must grow in its greatest perfection ; and what a splendid
and delightful aspect and odour would such a plant and its
varieties present when in flower! All the species of Nymphea,
and other beautiful water-plants, might be grown in the same
basin, and this would render the whole still more splendid.

Arr. XI. Observations on the Propagation of the Dahlia. By C.O.

Tue following observations have been suggested by the ap-
pearance of a paper on the propagation of the dahlia, published
in the Number of your Magazine for last month. That the
roots produced by dahlia cuttings, made in a particular manner,
will grow, has been proved beyond the possibility of dispute ;
but it has been as satisfactorily proved, that, if made in a different
manner, not one in ten will ever see the light of another year.
In order that the roots of dahlia cuttings may produce shoots
the following season, it is not necessary that they should be
taken off by their attachment to the crown of the old root; but
it is absolutely necessary that they should be cut immediately
under the insertion of a pair of leaves. Cuttings made by the
former method will neither grow stronger nor flower better
than those made by the latter; but they are preferable, as
having a greater number of buds in the crown, consequently
producing a more numerous progeny the following year: those
by the latter method can only have the two buds always found
in the axils of the leaves; these do sometimes exist in a com-
pound state, and will either be developed or not, according to
the health and strength of the tubers.

It has been stated, that the base buds of cuttings made in this
manner grow with the growth of the stem. Such may be the
case; but I have propagated dahlias by cuttings for many years,
and never could recognise such a principle. Iam aware that
cuttings can be made in such a manner, that the growth of the
stem will elevate the buds considerably above the crown of the
root, but I never could discover it where the cuttings were
pared off close to the buds. If it can be established that the
upper part of the tuber extends itself, and becomes a portion of
the lower extremity of the stem, then the assertion must be
granted; deny this, and the thing is impossible: for if the
cutting be taken close to the base of the leaves, then the buds
are included in the crown, which is the most essential part of
the root; and few, if any, instances can be discovered, where
any plant will naturally destroy one of the most important
means of its future reproduction. It has further been stated,

Propagation of the Dahlia. Si

“that buds are formed far down in the root; and that, more es-
pecially, these are formed in the tubers at the time of ripening,
as even old roots on rich land, and not well ripened, did not
produce buds.” Let no one trust to this, lest his hopes be
grievously disappointed. I am aware that ihe growers for sale
will not rest their faith on it for a future supply. As formerly
mentioned, the roots of dahlias produced from cuttings can only
have the buds found in the axils of the leaves. I have often
examined for my own satisfaction, and never could discover
buds on any other part of the root. I have often seen the
tubers grow in such a manner that the buds appeared to spring
from the base, and not from the crown of the root; but this, on
examination, will be found to be only in appearance. This
formation of the roots is very frequently found in plants grown
in pots; less so in those which have been reared in the ee
ground. Iam not aware that the roots form buds in ripening
T have never seen it: let the root of a dahlia be examined at
the earliest period of its growth, and every bud will be seen to
exist in embryo; that these are matured with the growth of the
root cannot be disputed. ‘The writer of this has taken dahlia
roots from the ground when little more than half their season’s
growth was over, and certainly anything but well ripened; and
these roots sprang with equal vigour the following year, and the
buds as numerous as those that had been thoroughly matured.
That the roots of dahlias, in common with the roots of all
other plants, in cases where the crown has accidently or in-
tentionally been destroyed, will make a powerful effort to renew
this most important part, every practical man of the slightest
observation is aware; but they are equally certain that these
efforts are not always successful, and much less so in the dahlia
than in most other plants. In consequence of having heard it
asserted, that a tuber without a crown, if placed in a favourable
situation, would form buds, and ultimately grow, the writer
deprived a number of tubers of their buds, planted them in
pots, plunged them in a gentle heat, and had them regularly
attended to with water, along with other plants placed in the
same frame; rootlets were produced, as in other dahlias planted
at the same time, but not mutilated in the same manner. No
buds ever were organised. ‘The cellular tissue, indeed, was
thrown out in irregular masses around the top, and on the
surface of the tuber, but always retained its simple structure. I
do not mean to infer from the above failure, that the efforts of
the vital energy in the root is always abortive, but I will posi-
tively assert, that, in nine cases out of ten, the result will be un-
satisfactory; which any one possessed of a few dahlia roots may
prove to his own satisfaction.

There are few cultivators of the dahlia who have not, at one
LL 4&

518 Propagation of the Dahlia.

time or other, had recourse to the purchase of new and improved
kinds, and, I think, few of those persons will be found, who do
not conceive that they have cause of complaint from the deceits
practised on them by the commercial cultivator ; but were these
agerieved individuals to examine with a little discrimination and
impartiality, they would find that in very many instances, where
the “hue and cry” has been raised against the sale grower,
their want of success can be traced to their own mismanagement
or careless neglect. At the same time, nurserymen are not
blameless, although extenuating circumstances are connected
with some of their mistakes. For instance, sending out very
small plants at a late season of the year, sending out one variety
of dahlia with the name of another attached, or even sending
out a cutting in a pot with not a single root; these are contin-
gencies, which, even in the best-regulated establishments, are
almost beyond the power of the closest vigilance to prevent, but
which no respectable grower will refuse to correct.

The following goes far to prove that dahlia cuttings made
without buds at their base will grow and flower as well as those
where buds have been retained, but that their roots will not af-
terwards grow. ‘The writer at one time possessed a seedling
dahlia of some merit, and was desirous of having as many plants
of it as possible the following year. At the proper season the
root was potted, and in due time the shoots made their ap-
pearance. ‘The cuttings were taken off, not by their insertion
on the root, but above the first pair of leaves; these were pared
off close to the buds, and struck in the usual manner. A short
time after, another but a weaker shoot was developed in the
axils of each of the remaining leaves; when of sufficient strength,
these also were made into cuttings, and rooted with the old leaf
still attached to their base; finally, the old root was divided into
as many plants as could be made of it, and each sort separately
distinguished by a particular mark. At the usual time the
plants were planted in a piece of well prepared ground; all
grew and flowered equally well, and, with few exceptions, the
roots of all were equally strong: they were lifted rather early
than otherwise, and preserved during the winter in dry sand.
The second spring the roots were placed in heat, as formerly.
From those ef each of the first-made cuttings, two strong, with
one or more small, shoots were produced; these were the two
buds included in the base of the cutting, and now forming the
crown of the plant. Numerous shoots developed themselves
from those formed of the divided root of the old plant, but not
one ever showed itself from the roots of the secondary cuttings.
The cause of this failure is simple, and easy of solution. Al-
though a leaf was attached to the base of each of these cuttings,
still there was nod bud included; the shoots were formed by an-
ticipation from the buds, which, had the cuttings been taken

‘General Notices. 519

under those leaves, would have formed the crown of the future

root. In like manner, it will be found, that, if the cuttings are

taken lin. or more under the leaves, they will strike root,

grow, and flower equally well as if they had been taken exactly

at the base of the leaves; but the roots are always unproductive.
August 19. 1841.

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

‘Art. I. General Notices.

GERMINATION of Seeds, §c.— The following article has appeared anony=
mously in the Mark Lane Express, but as we recognise in it the mind of our
highly esteemed correspondent, Mr. Lymburn, we have transferred it to our
ages.

‘5 Germination of Seeds. In the Mark Lane Express of the 5th of April,
1841, a correspondent notices that, having damped his mangold-wurzel seed to
hasten its germination, he dried part of it with powder of quicklime, to make
it sow easier, and found, to his surprise, that the part of the seed which was limed
came away some days earlier than the other which was damped only, and kept
the lead, as to luxuriance of growth, all the year round. As this is not acci-
dental, but a striking proof of a theory brought forward some years ago, it
may, perhaps, interest your readers to have it stated.

Around all the germs of plants destined for the increase of the species,
whether the buds or eyes, as they are called, of the tubers of the potato, the
buds destined to produce branches on the stems of trees, or the more perfect
and separated germ in the seed, the embryo of the future plant, — around all
these, embedded in the cotyledons, or seed leaves, of the most of seeds, or in
the coverings which surround the seeds or buds, there is a deposit of nourish-
ment laid up, to serve as the food of the young embryo when called into
_ existence in the spring. ‘The general name of albumen has been given to
these deposits, which consist of starch or flour, sugar, and gum or mucilage,
and sometimes oil ; all substances contaming albumen, and having been
elaborated from it by the organs destined for that purpose in the plant. Be-
fore, however, these substances can serve as nourishment, and be received
into the latex, or vital sap or blood of the plant, they must be again brought
back or reduced by a chemical process into the soluble state from which they
were at first elaborated. The milky juice of the corn, from which the farina
or starch is elaborated, will be familiar to most of your readers; and, were it
possible to preserve it in that state, it would furnish a ready food for the
young plant; but, as this would not keep, it is elaborated into starch or flour,
a substance which is difficult of decomposition, and in which state it is capable
of being preserved, if kept from excess of damp or heat. This will explain to
your readers the reason why unripe potatoes or grain germinate and come
away in the ground more quickly than when very much ripened: the food is
in a more soluble state, and more easily made available for the wants of the
young embryo. As the strength of a healthy young plant will in great measure
depend upon the quantity of soluble food with which it is furnished, it is thus
of great consequence to have the seed placed in circumstances which will
most assist the operations of nature in attaining this end. It has been long
ago pointed out by M. Raspail and others, that the ultimate particles of starch
consist of a substance similar to gum, which he calls dextrine, enclosed in a
shell ; this substance is not difficult of solution itself, but that cannot take place
till the shell is burst, which requires a very high heat and the assistance of
other substances, as alkalies, and the principle called diastase, the agent in fer-
mentation. We thus see that the food of animals and plants needs similar

520 General Notices.

preparation; in so far, at least, as regards this substance. By the assistance
of heat, soda, and yeast (which contains diastase), the flour is prepared into a
loaf, which is more easily made available as food in the stomach than would
be the grain itself ; so, by adding alkalies to assist in the action of the natural
diastase formed by the plant itself from the nitrogen of the seed, or by adding
yeast where this is deficient, or other substances containing nitrogen to allow
the formation of diastase, and by increasing heat in the soil, we assist and
increase the efforts of nature, and a greater produce is the result. Some seeds
are the better for being exposed even to a boiling heat, as the acacias of
tropical countries, in which the starch is very much concentrated, and difficult
to reduce. It has also been ascertained that electricity is connected with all
transformations or changes of organic substances, either as cause or effect :
when electricity is present, it accelerates or causes chemical decomposition ;
and when chemical decomposition takes place, electricity is developed always
(says Dr. Carpenter), though, perhaps, in most instances, absorbed again by the
new state of the compound. M. Maltuen, in experiments made some years
ago with seeds, found that they germinated much sooner at the negative or
alkaline pole of a galvanic battery than at the positive or acid pole; and, fol-
lowing up these discoveries by enclosing seeds in phials of alkalies and acids,
he found they germinated quickly in the former, and with difficulty, sometimes
not at all, in the latter. Connected with the same subject are the recent ex-
periments of Dr. Horner, on the differently coloured rays of the spectrum ;
the violet or deoxidising end produces a chemical effect, similar to the nega-
tive or alkaline pole, and the red end produces the opposite or acid effect, by
the retention of the oxygen. Guided by these theoretical opinions, I was in-
duced to try their effects on some very old spruce fir seed in 1836, which had
been three years out of the cone; the year before, 1835, some of the same seed
did not produce one sixth part of a crop, and I had good reason to suppose it
would be worse the next. The year before, when the seed was damped to
accelerate germination, it had a musty fungous smell; and the seed leaves came
up yellow, and, hanging by the ends in the ground, had not strength to free
themselves from the soil. In 1836, however, after being damped, I added
quicklime in the state of powder, which, besides furnishing an alkali, has a
great affinity for carbonic acid, which is necessary to be extracted from the
starch before it can be made soluble, and which produces heat by concentration
of the oxygen and carbon when being extracted. After the seed was thoroughly
damped, I sprinkled it with the powder of lime, and kept it damp, by the
use of a watering-pan, for ten or twelve days ; at the end of which time it had
swelled off plump, and had all the sweet smell of the sugar formed in healthy
seed when malied in this way: and, when deposited in the ground, it was not
long in pushing through its seed leaves, as healthy, upright, and dark green in
the colour as the first year it was sown ; and, like the mangold-wurzel plants
of your correspondent, the seedling spruce was strong and healthy. I drew up
an account of this experiment for the Gardener’s Magazine, which was inserted
in the spring of 1838, and to which I would refer those wishing for further
particulars. Enough, I hope, has been stated to point out the theoretical
principles on which the benefits of lime proceed. The reasons why I preferred
lime were, its cheapness, and the affinity of quicklime for carbonic acid: as
to its alkaline properties, soda is much more powerful, but lime seemed to be
that which had preduced most effect in the experiments of M. Payen and
others on the same subject. The seed must be carefully kept damp till sown,
as the dry powder is apt to corrode; and seeds do not suit well to have their
dormant powers brought into action without being sustained, which, if far
forward and severely checked, may destroy life altogether. Since I experi-
mented as above on the spruce fir seed, I have not had any other seed so
long kept to make trial of; I have, however, tried it on magnolias and other
weak-growing seeds difficult to start, and found them to germinate sooner, and
make stronger plants than usual. Some others who have tried it have also
found it of benefit. It is to seeds containing their albumen principally in the

General Notices. 521

form of starch, that it will be of most benefit; and to those which have been
hurt by long keeping dry, or being exposed to great heat; those which have
been spoiled by dampness have their food decomposed and spoiled. It
is difficult, also, to say how far the drying can be endured without being pre-
judicial, and when the organised tissue, the seat of life, may have its powers of
resuming vital activity so far trenched on as to be considered dead. After
this has taken place, any stimulus that can be applied can only hasten con-
sumption, as the vital force which should preside over and direct the chemical
has fled. Professor Otto of Berlin (as stated by Dr. Lindley, in the Theory
of Horticulture) has said he found great benefit in applying substances yielding
oxygen: perhaps it may have been to seeds containing oil, which, being a
substance nearly destitute of oxygen, will, therefore, require an extra quantity
of that substance, more than is found in the atmosphere, to reduce the food to
a soluble state. I have never found any benefit to result from the appli-
cation of oxalic acid, the substance recommended as yielding oxygen (how is
not stated) ; but it was to seeds containing starch, as old magnolia and acacia
seeds, I applied it. For old seeds of lint, rape, turnip, and other seeds con-
taining oil, the professor’s recipe may, therefore, be best. I never found
damping or liming productive of much benefit to turnip, fir, and other oily
seeds; but to all containing starch or flour, which is by far the greatest
number, the lime, I am convinced, will be of great benefit, and this is, perhaps,
the main reason why wheat prepared by steeping in lime and other substances,
and potatoes dusted with lime after cutting, have been benefited.

Curdling of Milk. The albumen of the milk is coagulated by acids, heat,
and electricity, or any substance that will act chemically on the milk and pro-
duce acidity, as heat and electricity do. The dishes should be carefully
cleansed from all substances in which a tendency to decomposition or chemical
change may have commenced, in fact from all extraneous substances ; and the
place kept dry and as cool as possible. If acidity commences, it should be
checked by sprinkling a little powdered chalk or carbonate of lime, which is
not so saturated with acid but it will take up what little has been formed, and
when it subsides may be drained off. To remedy the flavour of turnips, they
should be boiled, and salt given; and, a few hours before the time of milking,
some other food, as beans, bran, &c., should be given, with more salt: for fat
cattle, the turnips should be discontinued some days before killing; the vola-
tile principle that gives flavour is thus got rid of.

The Gooseberry Caterpillar, it is said, can only be killed by an infusion of
foxglove. I have been very much troubled with it here, and have found
the powder of white hellebore, which is more easily got, to be quite sufficient.
The caterpillars are on the under side of the Jeaf; and one man holds up
the branches, while another dusts the powder on them from below: if per-
fectly dry, it spreads in a cloud of dust, and misses none, if well directed ;
and none it touches will live, if the hellebore be fresh and good. When it
gets damp, or is too long kept, it loses its pungency and efficiency ; and I
have seen frequent disappointments from this cause: if only partially damped,
it may be recovered by toasting before the fire in a flat dish. Some prefer to
infuse it; but I have always found most benefit from the dry powder, if
carefully dusted on the caterpillar from below. The caterpillar may be seen
to collapse when the powder touches it, and in a few hours there will be
nothing but skin.

The Use of Sulphate of Lime. The method advised by Professor John-
ston to drive off the superfluous water, so as to make it break smaller, should
be the best. As the intention is to expose as much surface to the atmosphere
as possible, whatever will make it break into smaller particles should be an
advantage ; and, to prevent its being agglutinised again into lumps by the
rain, it should be spread out thin as soon as possible after being broken. Dr,
Liebig’s opinion is, that it acts principally by combining with the carbonate
of ammonia in the air to form sulphate of ammonia, and thus form a fixed
salt in place of one that is yolatile. If this is correct, the more surface that

522 Foreign Notices : — Germany.

is presented ‘to the air, the more benefit will be the result. Others say it
forms a constituent to the plant; and it may also be asked, If the carbonate
of ammonia is so near the surface of the ground as to unite with the sulphate
of lime spread on it, will it not be washed into the ground by the rains, and
thus furnish both carbonic acid and ammonia to the plant ? Whatever may
be the result of theories, the sulphate of lime is not a volatile substance, and
should be spread as thin as possible on the ground; the more extent of
surface, the more action should take place.

Ravages of Worms at the Roots of Corn. I am of opinion the subject
has not been properly investigated. In the Ayr Advertiser it was stated,
about two years ago, by an intelligent agriculturist, that more of the damage
done was owing to the state of the ground than to worms; and I am of
opinion there is much truth in this statement. It is necessary the ground
should be porous, that water may not stagnate, and that the confined air and
heat may be retained in the pores; but, if the fissures are larger, the air will
not be confined, and the water and gases retained by the capillary attraction
and absorption of the small particles will vanish into the atmosphere, and the
roots, finding no nourishment, will perish. This state of the ground may be
brought about by want of pulverisation. Clayey stiff land, perhaps, worked in
wet weather, will leave hollow places in the soil below the surface; and,
though the roots thrive for a time till they have penetrated to these while
showery weather continues, they may ultimately, when drought comes on,
cause failures, more or less, according to their extent. Wet lands, ploughed
early, may be heaved by frost ; and some grey heathy soils are naturally too
spongy. All these causes may have an effect, and the benefits of rolling may
arise more from the consolidating of the ground than from the crushing of the
insects; which, as they are embedded in the soil, may not take place to the
extent anticipated. The wireworm so much talked of, a long yellow many-
footed worm with a brown head, and the millepedes, long lead-coloured
worms generally called wireworms, we have never seen destroy anything but
solid roots; fibres, as of corn, we should think they do not meddle with.
The grub, or cut-worm, a long short thick worm, of a dirty green and brown
colour, the larva of the Tipula, or crane fly (jenny nettles, and daddy long-legs,
are amongst its provincial names), does us most harm in the nursery way ;
but it eats the plants at the surface of the ground, and I have not observed
its ravages on the roots. We have had the roots cut of seedling beech by a
bright yellow annulose insect, the larva, I think, of some beetle; and such
as these, and the grub also, may produce ravages at times, and may, in turf,
when they cannot get to the surface, cut the fibres and not the stem; but the
thing, I imagine, wants confirmation; and more harm is laid to the score of
these insects than, perhaps, they deserve. — R. L.

Art. II. Foreign Notices.

GERMANY.

CuLTURE of Hepatica triloba.— At the fifty-third meeting of the Society, in
Berlin, for promoting the Art of Gardening, on May 6. 1827, the director read
a paper from M. Lucanus, apothecary at Halberstadt, on the cultivation of
the Hepatica triloba (Anemone Hepatica) ; which, on account of the beauty
of its foliage, and rich display of flowers in the end of March and beginning of
April, is peculiarly suitable for edgings round beds, and also forms a striking
contrast round grass-plots.

M. Lucanus is originally indebted for his collection to the woods, and by
cultivation and sowing the seed he has produced about fifty or sixty varieties ;
which, from the size of the flowers, some double and others semi-double, far
exceed in beauty those in a wild state. The colours are: blues of different
kinds ; indigo blue with white and red anthers, king’s blue, medium blue to

Foreign Notices : — Germany. 523

Miller’s blue, gently varying to a pearl colour, with flat and concave petals :
reds, from the deepest tint to a pale pink ; and lilac and violet colours in end-
less varieties. Some quite white and double ; others single, and only varied
by a different-coloured flower-stalk and leaves, and by having the anthers
more or less coloured.

He makes the following observations on their cultivation: —The Hepatica
thrives best on a soil that is rather sandy; requires no dung, and but very little
sun ; and it should be kept rather moist than dry. It becomes a large bushy
plant in the course of a few years, and is propagated by dividing the root. As
M. Lucanus found the Hepatica ‘covered with fallen leaves in a wild state in
winter, he adopted the same in his garden, and removed them again in spring,
without using the rake, which would have torn up the plants. Afterwards a
layer of loose earth, half an inch thick, was laid on. (Verhandlungen, &c.,
Berlin, vol. iv. p. 229.)

Eixtracts from the Epistolary Correspondence of Edward Otto, during his
Voyage to Cuba, and his Abode there. —On the 28th of August, 1838, at eight
o'clock in the morning, our ship, Julius and Augustus, Capt. Wallis, after being
till then detained on account of the very unfavourable state of the weather, at
last set sail with a south-west wind, in company with several other vessels,
from the port of Hamburg. The wind soon shifted to the west, and increased
to such a degree, that at Grauerort, only seven miles from Hamburg, we were
obliged to go to anchor. Another attempt only brought us as far as Gliick-
stadt, where we again raised the anchor on the 3d of November, at five o’clock
in the morning, and sailed by Cuxhaven at eleven o’clock a.m. A dreadful
storm arose in the following night, which lasted till eight in the morning, and
which brought us as far as the Channel, but which we did not enter, so as to
endanger the ship as little as possible. An account of some terrible disaster
having befallen us might certainly have been reported, as the violence of the
storm had torn away the board on which was the name of the vessel, and
which, very probably, had been washed ashore. But, however, in spite of the
weather, neither we nor the ship sustained any material injury; and our
patience only was put to the test when we saw vessels coming from the
Channel, and advancing rapidly with a favourable wind. On the 11th of
November we at last found ourselves in the Channel, about four miles from
the English coast, and were, therefore, just upon the point of leaving Europe.
By the unanimous desire of the passengers to bid the last farewell to their
friends in this part of the world, an English pilot was allowed to come on
board, to whose care a number of letters were committed. This man seemed
to have the expectation of being treated with British generosity, as he only
asked, as a small indemnification for his services, the sum of five pounds ster-
ling, or thirty-five Prussian dollars !

As soon as we had passed the Channel, the wind began again to be unfa-
vourable, and during the last week in November it raged tremendously, ac-
companied by so many threatening clouds, that we were obliged to take down
all the sails but one ; and as we directed our course to the region of the trade
winds, and consequently were obliged to steer to the west coast of Africa, we
could only reach about as far as 37° N.L., on the coast of Spain. We were
more fortunate in the beginning of December, and on the 2d we found we
were in 36° 4’ n.L. and 19° 29’ w.L., in the sea called the Sargasso Sea.
Here we first met with Fucus natans, which is said to cover a space re-
sembling a meadow, a few degrees further southward. Hooks, nets, and other
implements, were immediately in requisition, to catch all that we could for our
further information.* The first attempt brought us a small species of crab

* The best writer on the Fucus, after Humboldt, is J. Purdy, in his Me-
moir, descriptive and explanatory, to accompany the new chart of the Atlantic
Ocean. :

524 Foreign Notices : — Germany.

and several species of polypus, the latter of which has a great resemblance to
the Fucus ; which, although it abounded here and also further south, we could
not discover whole meadows of it, as two or three feet in breadth, and no con-
siderable length, could not merit such a title. Perhaps, however, these strips
of Fucus may approach nearer each other, and present somewhat the cha-
racter of a large surface ; but we never found this to be the case, and must,
therefore, leave the assertion as it has been stated by many others. We found
Sargassum vulgare Ag. (Fucus natans Turn.) on the coast of Africa, and
always this one species only ; but as we approached the West Indian Islands,
in 19° 34’ n.L. and 69° 25° w.L, we met with another, or probably a variety,
or a sport of nature. One form had broad leaves, furnished with fine notches ?
(Zahnen) which on some specimens were curly, and on others were quite
smooth; others had their berries (vesiculz) as if winged, of a round or angular
shape; and there were also an immense number of monstrosities belonging to
both these, which, no doubt, can easily be distinguished on dried specimens ;
Sargassum bacciterum Ag. (Fucus natans L.) is probably among them, which
a closer investigation may hereafter prove. The form of the Fucus natans
which we found on the African coast was but seldom to be met with in the
West Indian waters; and when any came in our way, it had much longer and
more slender leaves, with a number of small living creatures attached, even
when the specimen was partly in a state of decay, which we carefully col-
lected and preserved. In 19° 7’ N.u. and 75° 58’ w.L. (the south-east point
of Cuba) the Fucus is scarcely any longer seen ; and our fishing now generally
consisted of sugarcane-haulm and pieces Of wood, which, on account of the
shell-fish attached to them, was scarcely worth the trouble. As has been
supposed, this part is extremely rich in Fucus ; but, at the time we were there,
perhaps the wind and motion of the sea had floated it away to other places.
We found, on the contrary, in the Gulfs of Mexico and Florida a great deal of
Ficus, and quite the same species as we found on the coast of Africa.

To return again to the voyage, we arrived on the 4th of December, at
noon, in 33° 15’ N.u. and 22° 21’ w.L.; and, on the 9th, in 24° 54/ n.L.
and 33° 9’ w.u.; where the easterly trade winds begin, and which enabled us
to calculate more exactly on the success of the voyage. The starry firmament
now began to assume a very different appearance, the Great Bear now went
underneath, and other constellations seemed to arise out of the sea in the
south, and all shone in this region with a very different splendour from what
they do in ours. During the voyage, also, the appearance was very striking ;
although we approached the winter solstice, we found the days increasing,
and the sun went down at half-past six, and rose again at half-past five. We
were far from the European winter, as we never had less than 17° Reaum.
(7° Fahr.) in the shade ; the sea was of the same temperature, and the water
we had for drinking could only be enjoyed with a little brandy or wine. On
the 12th of December we passed the tropic of Capricorn, and now saw the
tropical bird, the inhabitant of the tropics, and numerous flying fishes, which,
on the 10th of December, in 24° 31’ n.u. and 34° 31’ w.u., we had also
observed. If it had been possible to have steered through the old Baha-
ma Channel, the sea between the Lucayo Islands and Domingo and Cuba,
we should have saved five days’ journey. The navigable channel is only
about three miles wide, and but little deeper than our ship ; and, although
the moon shone in all her splendour, the captain was afraid to venture
through this narrow way; as, on account of the innumerable coral reefs,
the vessel would have been exposed to the greatest danger, the wind then
blowing from the north and north-east. It was, therefore, agreed upon, to pass
the channel between Domingo and Cuba, so as to gain the southern coast of
that island, and then to turn eastward to Havanna. We, therefore, sailed
more to the south till we arrived at 19° Nn.u., which we only attained
with difficulty, because there was hard] y a breath of wind, and we had
22° Reaum, (18° Fahr.), and consequently suffered greatly from the heat.

Domestic Notices: — England. 525

From our calculation we found, on the 23d of December, that we could not
be far from the northern coast of the Island of Porto Rico, and by break of day
were hailed with the cry of “ Land! land!” from the mainmast. It was not,
however, Porto Rico, but Cape Cabron, in St. Domingo. Our chronometer
was not exactly the best, and the violent storm which we had encountered
drove us sometimes backwards and sometimes forwards, and thus disarranged
our ship’s reckoning. We were now 4° more to the westward, that is,
in 19° 34 nN. L. and 69° 25’ w.i. With what a cry of joy did we respond to
the announcement of the not far distant land! and with what delight did
I behold it from the top of the mainmast, 120 ft. high! Towards midday,
when about four miles from land, we distinctly saw the high and long chain
of hills, with the Capes Samana, Cabron, and Vieux Francois; and, on the
twenty-fourth morning, we saw Punta Isabelica (Isabella Point), about two
miles from us ; and the following day Domingo disappeared, and the eastern
point of the Island of Cuba made its appearance; and Cape Maisy and
St. Jago de Cuba on the 26th instant. We now steered again more south-
wards, so as to avoid the coral banks of the Kayman Islands, and by this
means came farther up the Mexican Gulf than it was necessary. About the
closing of the old year, and before we reached Cape St. Antonio, the western
point of Cuba, another storm arose, which proved to be almost more ter-
rific than those we had previously experienced. The ship lay quite on her
side, but advanced very rapidly, so that we soon expected to be at the end of
the voyage; and, on the 5th of January, we arrived in the harbour of
Havanna, after seventy days’ sail, during the greater part of which the weather
was unfavourable. (Garten Zeitung, p.185., June 15. 1839.)

RUSSIA.

Cronstadt, July 6. 1841.—Our winter has been uncommonly good, but very
severe. From its commencement we never had a thaw, till the return of
spring demanded a change of weather ; owing to which, the supply of all
kinds of provision, except poultry, was most abundant. It is curious to
look at the chart, and to think that, at the same moment, I could have on my
table fresh fish from the Caspian and White Sea. While furnished during last
winter with every luxury, the want of poultry arose from the scarcity of corn,
throughout almost all the provinces which are connected with Moscow and
Petersburg, and feeding them was too expensive. On the other hand, the
severe frosts have done a good deal of harm to the fruit trees, both apples and
cherries. The latter are in many cases destroyed, while on the former the
fruit spurs have been killed as well as the growth of last year. The summer
and autumn of 1840 were most unusually wet, which contributed to fill the
wood with an exuberance of sap, prevented its ripening, and rendered it more
susceptible of the frost. There is another evil attendant on the frost; it raises
the trees bodily, and when they settle again, on the earth’s thawing, empty
spaces remain about the principal roots, as if dug out by some small animal.
To conclude, gardening, in our climate, is a most hazardous thing. —C.

Art. Ill. Domestic Notices.
ENGLAND.

TuE Great American Aloe. —This plant, which is said to flower but once in
a century, and very seldom blooms in this country, may just now be seen in
great perfection at Ham Green, about five miles from Bristol, the residence of
H.B. Bright, Esq. By a gentleman who, by Mr. Bright’s invitation, has seen
the aloe, and who, from a long residence in tropical climates, and especially the
agaye’s most indisputable habitat, Mexico, can speak with confidence on the

526 Domestic Notices : — England.

subject, we are assured that, even in its native country, this singular plant
seldom exceeds in beauty and grandeur the specimen now flcurishing in our
immediate neighbourhood. To many of our readers, the following brief de-
scription of this noble plant may be acceptable. Agave americana, or the
American aloe, is a plant which, when full grown, has a short cylindrical
woody stem, which is terminated by hard, fleshy, spiny, sharp-pointed, bluish
green leaves, about 6 ft. long, and altogether resembling those of the arbo-
rescent aloes. Each of these leaves will continue to exist for many years, so
that but a small number have withered away by the time the plant has ac-
quired its full maturity. It is commonly supposed that this occurs only at
the end of 100 years: but this, like many other popular opinions, is an error ;"
the period at which the agave arrives at maturity varying, according to cir-
cumstances, from ten to fifty, or even seventy years. In hot or otherwise
favourable climates, it grows rapidly, and soon arrives at the term of its
existence ; but in colder regions, or under the care of the gardener, where it is
frequently impracticable to attend to all the circumstances that accelerate its
developement, it requires the longest period that has been assigned to it.
Having attained its full growth, it finally produces its gigantic flower-stem,
after which it perishes. This stem sometimes is as much as 40 ft. high,
and is surrounded by a multitude of branches, arranged in a pyramidical form,
with perfect symmetry, and having on their points clusters of greenish yellow
flowers, which continue to be produced for two or three months in succession.
The native country of the American aloe is the whole of America within the
tropics ; from the plains nearly on a level with the sea, to stations upon the
mountains at an elevation of between 9,000 ft. and 10,000 ft. From these re-
gions it has been transferred to almost every other temperate country; and in
Italy, Sicily, and Spain, it has already combined with the date and the palmetto
to give a tropical appearance to European scenery. Independently of its
beauty and curiosity, this plant is applicable to many useful purposes. Its sap
may be made to flow by incisions in the stem, and furnishes a fermented liquor,
called by the Mexicans pulque ; from this an agreeable ardent spirit, called vino
mercal, is distilled. The fibres of its leaves form a coarse kind of thread; the
dried flowering stems are an almost imperishable thatch ; an extract from the
‘leaves is made into balls, which will lather water like soap; the fresh leaves
themselves, cut into slices, are occasionally given to cattle; and finally, the
centre of the flowering stem, split longitudinally, is by no means a bad substi-
tute for a European razor-strop, owing to minute particles of silica forming
one of its constituents. Mr. Phelps, the gardener at Ham Green, having had
the care of the exceedingly rare collection of exotics naturalised in those most
interesting grounds, is proud of his trust, and especially of the great aloe,
which has been attended to with the nicest care and science. The roof of the
hot-house has been partially removed, and a structure of framework glazed,
adapted to the growing necessity of the colossal flower-stem ; a stage has been
erected, and steps formed, so that the observer can open a slide, and look
down upon the whole plant. From Mr. Phelps we understand that the family
can trace the great aloe for ninety-eight years, a singular corroboration of the
generally received opinion as to its centenary existence. The flower-stem is
at present 23 ft. high, with twenty-seven branches, on which there are upwards
of three thousand blossoms. The last of these plants which flowered in this
country was at Brislington ; and so powerful was the attraction, that visitors
came from a distance of fifty miles to obtain a sight of it. (Bath Chronicle,
July 29. 1841.)

Immense Mushroom.— On Monday last Mr. Edward Kirby of Chettisham,
near Ely, cut a mushroom of the following extraordinary size: — cireum-
ference, 5 ft. 3 in. ; diameter, 1 ft. 6 in. ; stalk, 14 mches round. It weighed
4 lbs., and produced one quart and halfa pint of catsup. (Cambridge Chronicle
and Journal, July 24. 1841.)

THE

GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,
NOVEMBER, 1841.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Art. I. The Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. By
G. Recer, Gardener in the Royal Botanic Garden at Berlin.

(Translated from the Garten Zeitung, May 2. 1840, p. 148.)
(Continued from p. 486. )

I. On toe Propagation oF Prants — continued.
B. Propagation by Buds.

Tue bud is the most important part of the plant; for it is only
by it, and the various forms which it assumes, that the increase,
or propagation, of plants is effected. It appears first as a normal
perfect bud. Out of this, through various changes, comes the
fruit. Secondly, it appears in the form of a bud, which does
not, however, become developed in the usual way. ‘The meta-
morphoses of the latter have a more decided and marked indi-
viduality ; and consist of the bulb, tuber-bulb (Knollenzwiebel),
bulb-bud (Zwiebelknospe), the seed, and of a bud which by
cultivation and casualty is capable of becoming also a perfect
individual bud. I do not by any means intend to assert that
these germs can assume at will any one of these various forms,
for the changes which the bud undergoes in various respects
have their origin in its earliest existence. It is in order to
direct the attention to the analogy frequently existing between
them, and to examine more closely into the principles before
laid down, that the first part of this chapter is dedicated, while
the second part will consist of the practical propagation of plants
by cuttings, buds, leaves, &c., in connexion with these principles.

1. Bups AND THEIR METAMORPHOSES.

The normal perfect bud, which Frederic Wolff termed a
perfect plant, displays in its functions a certain individuality; so
that, under certain conditions, it may be considered the germ of
an entirely individual plant. Monch represented it as the part
from which the plant, without previous fructifying, is increased ;
and C. G. Nees von Esenbeck calls it the undeveloped nucleus

1841.— XI. 3d Ser. M M

528 Principles of Gardening

of a branch on the perfect plant. The unlimited individuality
which the various transformations of the bud display, has been
by many authors extended to the normal bud itself. According
to this view, the dicotyledonous tree consists of as great a num-
ber of single plants as there have been buds produced on it in
the course of time, and the union of all these forms a whole
which is nourished by one root. ‘This view gives us a lively
representation of the creation of a tree; in reality, however, it
is not so applicable, as the bud itself can only be made to de-
velope itself as an individual by art.

From the bud in a state of developement proceeds the forma-
tion of the young wood; on which account Du Petit Thouars
called the cellular tissue (Faserzellen) and spiral vessels (Spiral-
réhren), which extend from knot to knot as far as the root,
the roots of the bud, but considered the cells of the medullary
rays as forming the inner bark. To this Meyen objects that,
when, for example, a branch with red wood is grafted on a white
one, the new ring of wood formed below the graft has the colour
of the stock; that the spiral vessels are jointed ; and the cellular
tissue seldom extends from knot to knot entire, but that the
threads have their points obtusely truncated and rest upon others.
He explains it in the following way: ‘* The sap descending from
the bud, in the inner bark, is deposited at the sides between the
wood and the bark, and is then congealed into a woody sub-
stance;” by which he denies that the bud has any immediate
effect in forming the wood, but acknowledges it mediately, as in
it is prepared the sap for the formation of the wood. ‘The phe-
nomenon, therefore, of a branch deprived of its buds producing
no new layer of wood cannot be considered as an objection.
Still, from this explanation, the formation of the cellular tissue
and spiral vessels remains in obscurity; for though we find
everywhere parenchymal cellular tissue formed wherever the
descending sap is deposited, yet I know of no other case where
it has formed woody fibre, but this of the connexion existing
between it and the formation of the inner bark and the roots.

As we further remark, that the formation of roots in cuttings
is always in intimate connexion with the formation of young
wood, which I shall advert to further in the practical part; I
think myself justified in the conclusion, that the whole of the
young woody layer proceeding from the bud is analogous to the
formation of its roots; but with this difference, that, while the
woody fibres of the young wood are united by the medullary
rays, in forming the roots they are separated from them, and
appear surrounded by the parenchymal cells of the medullary
rays. It hence appears, that the new layer of wood is formed
from the sap which, descending from the bud, issues from the
inner bark ; also that the cells of the medullary rays may be con-
sidered as a purely lateral formation of the layer of bark; but

_ physiologically considered. 529

that for the formation of the woody fibres another power co-
operates, which, as proceeding from the bud representing, as it
were, a perfect individual, we may compare to the formation of
roots. It would hence appear that the wood of the graft never
passes over into the stock, as it must always assume the nature
of the surrounding bark from which the creative sap is trans-
mitted; and that the spiral vessels may be jointed, and the cells
of the fibres between the knots closed, as the creative sap always
strives to assume the cellular form, while the peculiar active
power of the bud stretches them to long fibres of various ana-
tomical forms. ‘The property of forming roots is not, however,
peculiar to buds, but also to many persistent and succulent leaves ;
but here there is often a very striking difference. For while,
with few exceptions, the roots of the cutting proceed, not from
the surface of the cut, but from the sides at the base of the knot
under the bud, and are therefore to be considered as proceeding
from it, the roots of leaves taken off without any axillary buds .
come chiefly from the surface of the cut, and sometimes also
from the side of it. In some of the gesnerias they spring from
the outside of the circular bundle of woody fibre of the leaf-
stalk, and may be very clearly distinguished for some depth in
the leaf-stalk, and have their origin, as it appears to me, in
a new layer of wood that was forming near the old one. Side
roots, also, were produced from this ring.

According to their different situations, we distinguish top or ter-
minal buds, axillary buds, and the scattered or adventitious buds
which may spring from almost all parts of the plant. ‘These are
produced in great numbers on many plants by cutting in the old
wood, and they also sometimes appear on the roots and leaf-
stalks or petioles of dicotyledons. All buds have an axillary form,
which is enveloped in a number of overlapping leafy growths or
scales; and, as the continuation of the axis of the parent plant con-
sists of pith, or medulla, and medullary envelope (Markscheide)
if the bud is growing on a young branch, the pith passes over
into it directly; but if the bud proceeds from old wood, the pith
is connected with the medullary rays; the passage of the bundle
of spiral vessels which form the medullary envelope being
tolerably clearly distinguishable. The latter becomes some-
what broader before it ends below the top of the bud, and from
it is afterwards formed the inner layer of wood. Over the
enlarged end of the medullary envelope, the pith rises convex
or conically, forming the medullary point (Markhugel). On
the outside it is surrounded with a fine brownish network of
cellular tissue, which afterwards forms the bark, and passes
directly into the outer cells of the bud leaves. At the base of
each of these leaves there is the beginning of a new bud, which

is never developed as a normal bud. On the upper extremity
MM 2

530 Principles of Gardening

of the medullary point lies the core, or rudiment, of the bud, in
the middle of all the bud leaves; it is the most important part
of the bud, from which all the new growths are formed. Ac-
cording to this, the bud consists in an extension of the axis of
the parent plant, surrounded by the leafy appendages which
conceal it, and possesses at the base of these the foundation for
new buds, and in their core the property of lengthening the axis
intoabranch. The fruit of every single flower is formed exactly
like the bud, and is the representative of the terminal bud of
the blossom bough; while the flower itself, the centre of which
it occupies, must be considered as the termination of the axis of
the blossom bough. ‘The metamorphosed bundle of leaves
which form the flower thus stand close over each other, and are
developed together with the organs of fructification. As soon,
however, after fructification has taken place, as the fruit begins
to expand, the other parts of the blossom lose their import-
ance, and mostly fall off. In the same manner as the axil of
the branch passes over into the terminal bud, the fruit is
formed by a greater or less lengthening of the axis of the flower,
which bears the ovula or germ, and is covered with leafy ap-
pendages. Link was the first who decidedly contradicted the
ideas formerly entertained of the formation of fruit, and recog-
nised the axillary formation as the most important part of all;
Schleiden, also, not a great while since, published a similar view,
the first principles of which, he, as well as myself, owes to my
esteemed instructor Bartling. From that time I have been con-
stantly occupied with this subject; and, in order to make the
above more intelligible, I will briefly arrange the principal
forms of fructification for our further contemplation.

The fruit-axis consists of the elongation of the pith of the
flower stalk, and the bundle of fibres forming the medullary
envelope (Markscheide). The most simple mode of fructifi-
cation is found in the genus 7axus. The ovula, or germ, is
seated at the point of the axis, and has its origin in the trans-
formation of the core of the bud. ‘The fruit-case (Fruchthiille)
and the bud-case (Kihulle) are, in this form, so slightly distin-
guished, that it is doubtful whether the single covering that con-
tains the pip, or nut, and is open at the top, is to be considered
the bud-cover(Hihulle), or the fruit-cover (Fruchthulle): the calyx
of the flower is also wanting; so that the female flower has exactly
the form of a bud, the primitive form of which bud remains un-
developed in the axis of the bud-leaves, but the core of which,
instead of making a new shoot, is transformed into a germ, and,
by fructification, becomes a seed. In a similar manner, but on a
higher scale of organisation, the fruit of the Urticeze are formed ;
the female flowers of which are surrounded with an imperfect
calyx, but possess a perfect ovula and fruit envelope (Ki- und

physiologically considered. 531

Fruchthulle). The form of the fruit in Polygoneze, Chenopddeee,
and Plumbaginez, is exactly the same; the ovula are sometimes
longer and sometimes shorter stalked (having an umbilicus).
These are, comparatively, the few examples in which the fruit-
axis bears a single ovulum on its point; while, in all other
cases, they spring out of the side of it, and appear either at the
inner base of the seed or fruit-leaves (Fruchtblatter), or from the
bundle of fibres of the medullary envelope lengthened beyond the
point of insertion of these leaves.

The first form shows, again, the greatest analogy to the bud.
The fruit-axis rises hemispherically, spindle, or conically-shaped,
over the flower, and is surrounded, as a covering, with several
rows of fruit-leaves (carpophylla), similar to the bud-leaves. At
the base of each of these, the rudiment of the bud, seated on
the axis, is metamophosed into an ovulum, and becomes enclosed
in the fruit-leaf, which has a tendency to turn in at the edges, so
that the point of insertion must always be in the edges of it, which
have grown together. Whether this takes place in the base or
top of the single seed, is determined by the length of the umbi-
licus. From this manner of fructification, it appears that all
fruits (carpidia) produced in several circles on a fruit-axis can
only be one-seeded, as we find in many families of Zanunculaceze
and Dryadez, such as in Randinculus, Myostrus, Anemone,
Adonis, Magnolza, Potentilla, Geum, &c. In a similar manner,
but only in a whorl, and at the base of a common stalk, the
seed-vessels of the Labiatee and Boragineze are formed.

The second form, where, in general, many ovula are pro-
duced from the bundle of fibres of the medullary envelope
(Markscheide) rising above the point of insertion of the fruit-
leaves, includes the greater part of fructification; and we will
proceed from those formations that have a visible fruit-axis to
those in which it seems to disappear by degrees.

1. The fruit-axis rises like a pillar, the bundle of vessels
forming the medullary tubes (trophospermia) ascends to its
summit, and developes lengthwise many ovula, which seldom are
diminished to one. Two of these bundles of vessels always lie
close together, and form a central column (placenta), which, on
that account, has generally two rows of teeth.

To each of these columns there is a corresponding leaf of those
situated at the base of the fruit-axis in a whorl, and which here, as
in the bud, only serve as a protection and covering to the axillary
growth. In this form there are two principal modifications.

a. The edges of the fruit-leaves bend inwards, and their cor-
responding bundle of fibres grows into them; so that each pla-
centa, with its fruit-leaf, forms a little fruit, or seed vessel, for
itself. In the Malvaceze and Geraniaceze, where the fruit-axis

rises above the fruit, is found the type of this manner of
MM 3

532 Principles of Gardening

fructification. The Onagrariz develope round an equally long
axis a whorl of many such fruits; the union of these forms the
fruit-cluster (Fruchtknoten), which is covered by the calyx above
it. The sides of the fruit-leaves bent inwards, thus becoming
pressed closer to each other, grow together and form the par-
titions; and, as the cylindrical leaves of the calyx alternate
with the fruit-leaves, the individual fruit cannot escape out of
this overgrowth, in order, as their formation required, to burst
open at the seam in the axis; but this takes place where the
leaves of the enclosing calyx have grown together, and, there-
fore, on the middle rib of the fruit-ieaves. This formation is
very perceptible in the seed-vessels of the Ginothéree. I have
also observed, in the beginning of spring, in the seed-vessels of
the Philadélphus which had remained on the tree during the
winter, and in which the calyx was partly destroyed by the
weather, a degenerating into single seed-vessels. In the same
manner, with a whorl of three seeds round a very slender fruit-
axis, which, apparently, only consists of the placenta, and ac-
cordingly, in the regular growth of the fruit, remains attached
to the seed, are formed the Ziliaceze with upper, and the Jrideze
with under, fruit-clusters. By the growing together of the sides
of the fruit-leaves, the fruit of these plants represents a tripartite
capsule. If the parts which grow together, and cause the single
compartments of the fruit, are fragile, the fruit separates when it
is ripe, and they burst open at their axis; but, if firm, they remain
united, and open at the midrib.

The Zuphorbzdcee also produce, round a more distinct fruit-
axis, a whorl of three one- or two-seeded fruits ; and, lastly, the
Umbelliferze, only two opposite to each other, which are one-
seeded, and also covered by the calyx.

b. The edges of the fruit-leaves growing in a whorl round the
fruit-axis do not bend towards the fruit-axis, but grow together
sideways, and not with their corresponding bundle of vessels.
The fruit-axis, therefore, rises in the hollow of the fruit-cluster
thus formed, ends under its point, and only the bundle of vessels
attached passes over into the stalk. In this manner is formed
the fruit of the Caryoph¥lleze. In the Polemoniacee, the placenta
is extended into three elongated angles, which are formed from
the pith, and which run towards the midrib of the fruit-leaves,
but which they, however, do not always reach (a similar forma-
tion also takes place in several species of Malvaceze, between
the single fruits on the fruit-axis, as well as on the base of the
fruit-cavity of several of the Caryophylleae); the placentee are
situated in the angles on the central column.

2. The fruit-axis is no longer undivided, but separates into
as many parts as there are bundles of fibres, and doubles the
number of placentee and fruit-leaves, or only of placente; and

physiologically considered. 533

in all these cases, the whorl of fruit-leaves situated at their base
is attached to the corresponding bundle of vessels of their pla-
centae, and connected with their edges. The pith of the axis dis-
appears more or less in this form. An intermediate formation
between these forms of fructification and the last-mentioned
takes place, for example, in Papaver and Nymphee'a, in which the
middle column has disappeared ; the medullary rays, however, re-
main, which have many bundles of fibres, and produce ovula over
their whole surface. Here, also, two principal modifications occur.

a. The separation of the fruit-axis begins under the point,
and continues to the base, so that all the bundles of fibres
bearing ovula end ina style, and form, as it were, the skeleton
of the fruit. The fruit-leaves are so attached to this skeleton,
that the two edges of each cover the two separated bundles of
vessels belonging to each placenta, so that two bundles of fibres
from different placentz are brought together. These grow more
or less firmly to a false placenta, which is produced from the inter-
grown edges of the fruit-leaves, and which must therefore alter-
nate with the lobes of the scar (Lappen der Narbe) formed by
the point of the fruit-leaf. In this manner of fructification, if the
original placenta should grow undivided, it would rest on the
midrib of the fruit-leaf; but I know of no example of this. If
the inter-growth of the two bundles of fibres which form the
false placenta is weak, they remain fixed, on the bursting of the
capsule, to the separating edges of the fruit-leayes, as in Helian-
themum and Parnassia; but if it is firm and interwoven, on the
bursting of the fruit-leaves, the false placenta remains as a skele-
ton of the fruit, as is beautifully exemplified in Argemdne. The
greater number of variations of this class of fruits arises from
the failure of several bundles of vessels, as well as of the corre-
sponding fruit-leaves of the whorl, so that in Chelidonium only
two placentze and fruit-leaves are found. The separated bundles
of fibres grow together, as in Argemone, and remain, after the
bursting of the fruit-leaves, as two opposite placentee. In Gllai-
cium, these two placentze are also united by an enlargement of
the pith of the fruit-axis, which becomes very large, and is co-
vered with a thin epidermis. ‘This growth fills the fruit almost
entirely, and divides it into two compartments ; so that the two
bundles of fibres of each false placenta are separated by it, and lie
in the two different compartments. ‘The fruit of the Cruciferze
is formed in the same simple manner; only the enlargement
of the pith covered with an epidermis is much more delicate
and slight than in Glaticium. Afterwards it diminishes still
more, so that, when the fruit is ripe, the pith is only found in
patches between the two membranes of the partition, producing
the light and dark spots and stripes on which R. Browa pro-

posed founding generic characteristics. In some, it is, however,
MM 4

534 Principles of Gardening.

more apparent even in the ripe fruit, as in Cheiranthus, and
several genera with small seeds. ‘The trophospermia lying on
both sides of the partition, in the Cruciferze, grow firmly together
to the stigma; and this explains the alternation of the two lobes
of the scar (Narben-lappen) with the fruit-leaves, the persistence
of the style, and the property of the latter (Zaphanus, Erucas-
trum) to form seeds within itself, which must be considered as
great difficulties in explaining this form of fructification.

6. The fruit-axis is divided from the top to the base into
several parts (placentae), which separate on all sides. ‘The cor-
responding fruit-leaves bend with their surfaces towards the
divisions of the axis, and their edges grow into them. Hence
arises, in general, a whorl of loose single fruit or seed-vessels,
which, on becoming ripe, mostly open at their axis, in such a
manner that, on each edge of the fruit-leaf, one of the bundles of
vessels of the placenta remains. The fruits themselves are either
many- or single-seeded, and either quite loose or attached at
the base, as in Helléborus. They also vary with respect to their
number. The whorls in Sempervivum and Jsopyrum consist of
many fruit; in Sédum and Dictamnus of five ; in some species of
Spiree'a of three ; in Psednza officinalis, Asclépias, Cynanchum,
Vinca, and Nérium of two; and, finally, in the Leguminosze, of one
fruit, which, when regularly formed, should have also a whorl of
loose fruits. Of the transition of these forms of fructification
into one another, we have examples in several genera. The
various species of the genus Delphinium produce sometimes a
whorlof five, three, or only one loose fruit; Nigélla arvensis and
hispanica form a whorl of loose seed-vessels only united at the
bottom; while Nigélla sativa and damascéna form the transition
to the fructification of the lily tribe, the axes of these seed-vessels
rising undivided as far as to the top, and there separating. ‘The
empty compartments of the latter arise from the diminution of
the middle parenchymal layer of the fruit-leaves, to which Cysti-
capnos forms the obvious: transition, for, when the fruit is ripe,
the rudiments of it are still visible.

These are the principal modifications of fructifications, under
which all the forms as yet known to me are included. To
enumerate all the different changes, for example, how the apple,
the stone-fruit, or the berry, is produced, does not belong to this
place; should I, however, be encouraged by a favourable recep-
tion of my views, arising from a firm conviction of their validity,
I may enter into this subject more at large in a future work.

The bud and the fruit, therefore, both consist of a continuation
of the axis, gifted with the power of reproduction, together with
the appendages for their covering, the more or less perfect leafy
organs. The axis of the bud pierces its covering, lengthens
into a branch, and forms new buds; the axis of the fruit lengthens

Washing Walls to destroy Insects. 535

only to a certain size, and forms mostly side-ovula, which, till
they are ripe, remain concealed by their coverings. It sometimes
happens, that, by a general deterioration of the organs of fructi-
fication, the fruit-axis grows into a branch, of which we have an
example in the double rose. ‘The ovula are formed either from
the upper point of the undivided axis, as in Zaxus and Urtica (the
rudiment of the ovulum being, like the top of the bud, the first
and most important formation, and fixed on the chalaza, a part
similar to the medullary point and the surrounding medullary
enclosure), or they proceed from the metamorphosis of the pri-
mitive bud. In the latter instance they grow sideways out of the
axis, either at the base of the fruit-leaves, as in Ranunculus, or
on the lengthened bundle of vessels of the medullary coat, which
is mest usually the case.

(To be continued.)

Art. II. On the Utility of washing Garden Walls to destroy Insects.
By W. P.

I wave the management of some trees covering about 600
square yards of wall, which for several years had been so in-
fested with insects, that they neither bore fruit, nor made shoots
more than 1 or 2 inches long. I tried every means to get rid
of them throughout the summer, by washing them with various
mixtures, and also smoking them with tobacco, but it was of no
avail; for, although it undoubtedly killed a great number of in-
sects, still the trees were soon again covered with them. As the
walls were old, and full of nail-holes, I conjectured that the
insects harboured there, and that if I washed the walls in the
winter when the trees were unnailed, with something destructive
to them, it would have a much better effect than any summer
dressing. The result proved that I was right in my supposition,
as the trees are now perfectly free from insects, have made ex-
cellent wood, and are loaded with fruit.

The following was my method of proceeding. In the spring
I had the whole of the trees unnailed and tied to stakes driven
in the border; I then washed the walls with the following mix-
ture: half a barrel of cement, one quarter of lime fresh from
the kiln, two bushels of soot, and 12 |b. of sulphur, mixed with
soap-suds to the consistency of whitewash. This was sufficient for
the quantity of wall mentioned ; and it was done by a common
labourer. I may mention that part of the wall was covered with
moss, which now appears to be all killed.

Hertfordshire, Sept. 4. 1841.

536 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening.

Art. III. The Landscape-Gardening of F. L. von Sckell of Munich.
Translated from the German for the ‘‘ Gardener’s Magazine.”

(Continued from p. 505.)

V. On the different Kinds of Trees, Shrubs, and Flowers, which were particu-
larly dedicated to the different Gods and Goddesses, and which should surround
thew respective Temples, as Part of their Attributes —continued.

Tue ivy (Hédera Helix) was the emblem of power, and of
unvarying youthful vigour, and it was sacred to Bacchus and
Hebe. ‘The Bacchantes and their thyrsus, and the Fauns and
Satyrs during their orgies, were decorated with ivy. At the
marriage ceremony of the Greeks, a branch of ivy was presented
to the wedded pair, as an emblem of the marriage contract.
The ivy should be planted round the temple of friendship. Its
self-security in climbing, and its unalterable green, form an
excellent emblem of the constancy and duration of virtue.

The tamarisk (Tamarix gallica) was sacred to Apollo.

The chaste tree (Vitex A’gnus céstus) and the periwinkle
(Vinca minor) were dedicated to Bacchus; and the savin.
(Juniperus Sabina) was dedicated to Saturn.

The box (Baxus sempervirens) belonged to Pluto and Cy-
bele.

The sweet marjoram (Origanum Majordna) was sacred to
Hymen, the god of marriage.

The rose was dedicated to Venus and love. It is called the
queen of flowers. With it the sacred altars were ornamented,
and with it were woven garlands dedicated to the Graces, love,
and friendship, which were presented to the innocent bride;
and it is only to youth and to unsullied wedded innccence that
it can be considered a suitable decoration. It is an attribute,
also, of death, because it ornaments the graves, and it drops its
leaves like a symbol of perishableness and pain; and the more
particularly so when situated at the side of an urn which contains
the remains of virtue.

The lily (Zilium candidum) was sacred to Juno. -It is the
symbol of purity, innocence, modesty, and hope. In the mytho-
logical work entitled Les Siecles Pajens, by M. Abbé S. de
Castres, in the 4th volume, p. 266., will be found a list of the
plants that were sacred to Juno; and it is added that “ among
the plants that were the most agreeable to this goddess, were
the dictamnus and the lily. The lily was also called Juno’s rose
Rosa Junonia. (Gyrald. Hist. Deor., syntagm. 2.)”

This beautiful flower is also of great consideration in the
Christian religion, as Madame de Genlis has so interestingly
explained in her work on plants.

The violet (Viola odorata) was dedicated to Cybele, and used

Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 537

as an ornament for graves. These delightfully smelling flowers
should be planted round shrubs and bushes, and _ particularly
near habitations. The household gods, Lares, were decorated
with violets and rosemary.

The forget me not (Myosotis paltstris) should decorate any
object erected to love and friendship, and should also be planted
by the sides of running brooks. The heartsease (Viola tricolor)
belongs also to love.

The hyacinth (AMyacinthus orientalis) should be planted
round the temples of Apollo and Ceres; it was also used to
decorate graves.

The poet’s narcissus (Narcissus poéticus) was dedicated to
Ceres, Proserpine, and the Eumenides.

The safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) belonged to Ceres and
the Eumenides.

The sword lily (Gladiolus) was the symbol of eloquence, and
_ should be seen around the temple of Mercury.

The anemone and the everlasting (Gnaphalium Stce‘chas) were
dedicated to Juno. It is said by the poets, that Prometheus
brought fire from heaven in the hollow stalks of the fennel
(férula communis).

The French marigold (Tagetes erécta) and the chrysan-
themum are planted on graves in many parts of Europe. The
amaranthus was also dedicated to sorrow. The asphodel, which
was sacred to Proserpine, belongs also to those of a sorrowful
character.

The mallow was sacred to Osiris.

The opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) was dedicated to
Ceres and to Juno, as the protectress of wedded fruitfulness. It
was also the symbol of sleep, and was therefore also dedicated
to Morpheus.

The Indian lotus flower (Nelémbium speciosum) was the at-
tribute of Ceres, of Isis, and of fruitfulness.

The bean (Vicia Faba) was the symbol of death.

The flax (Linum usitatissimum) was sacred to Isis.

Acanthus mollis has, for more than 2000 years, been the
ornament of the Corinthian capital; and, according to tradition,
from the following circumstance :—

A young girl died in Corinth who was very much beloved by
her nurse. ‘This tender and affectionate woman visited the
grave of her young charge, and set on it a basket filled with
small dishes and vases, and other playthings, which were highly
valued by the deceased, and then covered the whole with a brick.
There happened to be an acanthus close by this basket, which
grew up by degrees among its wicker-work, till it reached the
brick, where the leaves were forced to bend and hang down in
the most agreeable forms. ‘The Corinthian statuary and ar-

538 Schell’s Landscape- Gardening.

chitect Callimachus, who lived 540 years before Christ, dis-
covered this harmonious assemblage of nature and art, and from
it formed the Corinthian capital, the most perfect style in archi-
tecture, which unites in itself all that the purest taste in
splendour and perfect beauty could invent in this kind of art.

Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger), the Potentilla reptans, Portu-
laca oleracea, and the grasses, were dedicated to Mercury.

Corn was Bediented to Isis; and the maiden’s hair fern
(Adiantum Capillus Véneris) to Pluto.

Juniperus communis and the Rhamnus catharticus were sacred
to the Kumenides, or Furies.

The garlick (4lium Pérrum) was sacred to the Lares, or
household gods.

The following eight divinities protected gardens : —

Ceres; Venus; Pomona; Flora; Feronia, nymph of the
woods and groves; Priapus; Vertumnus; and Pales, protectress

of the flocks.

VI.

Among the higher architectural objects and decorations, the
garden should also include:

1. Egyptian obelisks. These were usually ornamented with
hieroglyphics and other symbolical figures, and were used as
sundials. ‘These obelisks have a very good effect in a garden,
particularly when they are erected on gentle declivities, or on
islands, or the banks of lakes, in which their image is reflected.
The height was generally nine or ten times the breadth of the
base, and the column decreased upwards to about the half, or
rather less than the half of the breadth of the base at the top,
where it terminated in an obtuse point formed by four flat
sloping surfaces. These obelisks can also be ornamented with
bas-reliefs, which transmit noble actions to future generations ;
they should also be decorated with the likenesses of celebrated
persons.

2. The Egyptian pyramids were called by Pliny “ proofs of
the folly of despotism,” because more than a hundred thousand
men were said to have been employed for twenty years in the
erection of one. ‘These edifices were, therefore, only remarkable
on account of their enormous size and great durability. Some
of them were 682 ft. in breadth, and 625 ft. in height. If py-
ramids, therefore, are to be erected in a garden, it is natural to
suppose that they must be on a very diminished scale; but such
an imitation would only be laughable, and it would be much
better not to make the attempt.

3. Pillars are much more desirable as ornaments for a garden,
and they serve as historical monuments of great events and ae-
tions, which are thus handed down to facene generations; such,

Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 539

for example, as the Pillar of Trajan, and that of Antoninus, at
Rome, and, in modern times, the Pillar in London, which was
erected in 1666, in commenioration of the great fire in that city.

Such pillars are often erected to the memory of excellent
sovereigns, to heroes, and talented statesmen, who were repre-
sented either on horseback, or in a standing position at the top
of the column. ‘They are often built hollow, with a winding
stair inside, which conducts to a balcony at the summit, from
which a fine view is obtained, such as the minarets on the
mosque in the gardens at Schwetzingen. Such pillars should
always be more than 10 ft. in diameter (including the square
stones of which the pillar is composed), so that the winding stair
may be ascended with ease.

There are a great many other symbolical pillars of different
forms and intentions, which are more fully treated of in the
works of Vignol von Daviler, Durand, and many other archi-
tectural writings.

Termes also, and obtuse pillars, should support the busts of
celebrated men, and the garden should likewise be ornamented
by urns in the beautiful forms of antiquity, placed in suitable
situations for them.

5. The modern garden does not require so many single
statues as the ancient geometric garden, where the end of every
avenue, every niche, the centre of every square or circular form,
or piece of water, had a figure of some kind or another, without
particular attention to their execution as works of art, because
they were obliged to have so many. Pan reposing on a rock by
a brook in a forest, playing on his seven-reeded pipe; a nymph
bathing in a stream under an overhanging rock, situated in a
recluse and lonely thicket; a faun espied by a nymph : ; all these
might certainly be placed in the garden: but all other figures
should be either in temples or in other buildings, particularly
when they are valuable as works of art; and no statue should
be permitted in the modern garden without the situation in
which it is placed be particularly adapted for its character, and
the statue itself remarkable for its beauty,swhich, from the small
number required, is not so difficult of attainment as formerly,
when so many were in use.

6. Garden structures should not be limited to the antique
Greek and Roman temples already mentioned; they should also
include buildings in the modern style of architecture, when
these are in pure and good taste: such as a beautiful triumphal
arch as an entrance; and its decorations and allegories should
not be those of Pallas, but of Flora and Diana.

7. A beautiful rustic house, in which the proprietor can live
during the finest months of the year in the enjoyment of nature,
is a striking ornament in a garden, particularly when it is of a

540 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening.

beautiful form, and commands a fine prospect, and is at the same
time protected from high winds, and faces the rising sun.

8. Besides these, the garden ought also to include smaller
buildings which have an object in view, and in which a small
circle of friends can assemble and amuse themselves. Such
buildings may be dedicated to Virtue, Friendship, Fidelity, and
Solitude, or to persons who were dear to us; and they should
be decorated with delineations of remarkable events, or with
poetry, busts, and inscriptions, &c. 'To these should also be
added, ornamented seats for repose, houses containing baths,
the best examples of which may be seen in the vardens of
Schwetzingen ; aviaries; beautifully constructed menageries ;
oreenhouses ; and pretty little farm and other rural buildings,
which, however, should not bear the stamp of poverty by
having straw roofs, and similar marks of indigence. Why
should the landscape-gardener (whose particular desire is to
make every thing look beautiful) select, and imitate the rustic
buildings of the poorest classes with straw roofs? The rural
structures alluded to, and which are found in gardens almost
everywhere, should be introduced but sparingly, if it is in-
tended that such scenes are to be in good taste, and in the best
style of the art.

9. Ruins, also, have a good effect when erected in situations
that seem natural for them, but it is very difficult to give them
such an appearance as to induce the belief that they exhibit the
effects of time, and are not the work of art or any great revolu-
tion. Buildings often become ruins from the effects of fire and
war, but such are not included here, and ought not to be imi-
tated in art.

In constructing ruins, stone should be used which has the
appearance of being decayed by time, such as tufa (Tuffstein).
The walls should be of a proper strength and thickness, with
cracks of a suitable depth, and other signs of age and destructi-
bility expressed on them; and it should be evident from the
remains of such ancient structures, what their original intentions
were; and even the manner in which they were constructed
should be somewhat guessed at from their appearance. The
parts that are thrown down should lie in places where they
undoubtedly would have lain from natural circumstances; and
the places where they fell from should have the appearance as
if they had once been there.

Fragments of ruins ought not, therefore, to be strewn about
by chance, and care should be taken that parts of other kinds of
ruins may not be placed near them, such as cornices, columns,
chapiters, &c.; because it would soon be discovered that such a
heterogeneous mass never belonged to the constructed ruin: and,
in order to give as much of an appearance of truth as possible to

Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 541

the artificial ruin, it should be constructed on a fixed plan, and
the part which is supposed to have become ruinous from the
destruction of time, such as parts of walls, arches, domes, &c.,
should be only partially constructed, so that they need not be
thrown down, as these places can be easily omitted in building;
whereas, when it is all equally built up, and the appearance of
ruins effected by the use of instruments, the whole building
receives too great a shock, and the ruin itself becomes dangerous.
A cupola, which is intended to be only the half of the height in
the drawing, and a wall in a state of decay, or one in which two
thirds of its former height is wished to be shown, should be built
in this manner. When portions of the cornices of a pediment,
or the facings of a window, are wanted, they need not be put up
and then thrown down again, but thrown in where they would
have lain according to the laws of gravity.

After the whole ruin is erected, every particular part, such as
the cornices, &c., which forms too sharp a profile, and others
again which look too new, should be knocked off with an iron
mallet, according to the judgment of the artist, so as to give an
appearance of the effect of time. These fractures being pro-
duced by a blow, and therefore the work of chance, approach
much nearer to nature than those which are formed by the art
of the stone-mason, and which, indeed, being so much the work
of art, do not deceive, as they deviate too much from nature and
the truth.

The artist should also be as well acquainted with the manner
and spot in which time carries on the work of destruction, and
the places in which it is most visible, as with the romantic effect
which the breaches and fractures of his ruinous structure are to
produce at a certain distance. When we are near, we often
think the destruction has been committed with too bold a hand,
while, at the same time, when contemplated at a proper point of
distance, it seems to shrink into nothing, and has no effect
whatever. I was fully convinced of this in constructing the
ruins in the gardens at Schwetzingen, and particularly the temple
of Mercury, the building of which was particularly under my
own directions. ‘Those breaches or ruins which have been
effected by the use of the mallet should be sprinkled over, as if
by chance, with a colour resembling that of the other part of
the building, so as to give it a tone of antiquity, and bring it
into harmony with the other parts of the ruin.

10. The situation of the ruins should generally be in a distant
part of the park, and particularly on elevated spots, where nature
displays her most grave and solemn character; where loneliness
and awful stillness reign, where the unseen A¢olian harp is heard,
where the dark thicket in inseparable masses becomes almost
impassable, and where the ancient maple and the oak proudly

542 Schell’s Landscape-Gardening.

raise their heads among the mossy walls, and make known their
antiquity. Such melancholy remains of past ages may very
suitably be erected in such situations, and the illusion thereby
will be much greater.

11. Broad, frequented, and beautifully formed paths should
not lead to ruins, because they would be in contradiction with
the uninhabited and long deserted structures. Traces of carriage
roads, and narrow footpaths winding about through thickets,
which lead the traveller with difficulty to these venerable remains
of antiquity, are much more suitable.

i2. Monuments erected to the memory of virtuous persons, or
those who are dear to us, may form an ornament of the garden,
and awaken in us the most lively recollections; but I am not of
Opinion that gardens ought to be the actual place of burial,
although many examples can be given of persons being buried
there. ‘The peculiar intention of a garden is rather that it should
enliven and amuse us, than disturb and distress us by the
transience and destructibility of all that is temporal.

The amiable Countess Louisa von Erbach (born Princess of
Leiningen), the ornament of her sex both in mind and person,
died in the year 1785, far from her paternal home. Her now
deceased father, the worthy German Prince of Leiningen Turk-
heim, who loved the deceased with the greatest tenderness, had
a monument erected in his garden at ‘Turkheim in memory of
her imperishable virtues and affectionate memory. It consisted
of two sorrowful females in the greatest affliction carrying an urn
on a bier, which seemed to contain the beloved remains of the
deceased, back to her father in his garden at Turkheim. A pall
covers the bier and part of the urn, as far as where the name of
Louisa is engraved, after which is the following inscription : —
** Stop here maidens, set down the urn, that it may receive the
lamentations of the deceased’s father in the sacred grove.” *
A rock is situated on one side overshadowed by a weeping willow,
ready to receive the urn, and a sacred grove of slender poplars
veils the whole in a solemn shade. Such was this monument,
which is said to have been destroyed during the French re-
volution.

A mere simple urn, by the side of a murmuring brook, over-
shadowed by a weeping willow, and sacred to the memory of a
friend or a faithful spouse, whose ashes repose at a distance, is also
very suitable, as we can here lament the irreparable loss with
that tender, noble, and spiritual feeling of love and friendship,
without these being embittered by sensations of a coarser and
more unpleasant kind, from the presence of the corruptible
remains.

* If I am not mistaken, this inscription is by Gothe.

Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 543

VII. Bridges in Gardens.

1. Bridges in gardens are very ornamental, and capable of
producing a great deal of effect, when beautiful forms are chosen,
and the whole constructed according to the scientific rules of
art. These bridges may be of stone, iron, or wood; only, when
of the latter material, the piers should always be of stone, so
that when the bridge is so much out of repair that a new one is
required in its place, it may be erected on the same piers, by
which means the plants on the banks of the stream remain
uninjured, and the communication across is sooner rendered
. available.

Z. I cannot omit mentioning here what are called rustic
bridges and rustic seats, which are formed of the natural
branches of trees fastened together, and with the moss grown
over the bark, so very frequently seen in gardens. Such bridges
have no claims as works of art; they are not durable, but even
dangerous, and their appearance is poor and miserable. The
same may be said of the dirty garden seats of a similar struc-
ture, on which the clothes cling to the dry rough branches, and
get torn and dirtied.

Besides these playthings, there are many others which offend
good taste quite as much as rustic-work, and which cannot be
admitted under the name of art in the natural garden. I will
give but a few examples of these, which I have seen myself in
different gardens; but the respect I have for the proprietors
prevents me giving the names.

In a hollow withered stem of an oak stands a hermit, cut out
in wood, reading the bible; you are desired to open a small
door in the tree, upon doing which, you receive a blow on
the head from the hermit’s bible! Not far off sits Diogenes in a
tub! In another part, a kind of artificial arch is seen, the
interior of which is painted over with vines, and called a grotto!
You are invited to come in as if to enjoy a fine prospect, and to
sit down on a chair furnished with a thick cushion. —The moment
you sit down, the distressed cries of a cat are heard, as if you
had crushed it under the cushion, which causes you to start up
again immediately: this witty invention is truly laughable.

In another garden a tower is shown dedicated to Lady Marl-
borough. A winding staircase leads to the statue of the lady
clothed in mourning, who is looking through a telescope at a
page who seems to be coming over a distant hill on horseback,
and on the telescope are these words: “ Ah! Je vois venir le
page!” * The rope which raises and lets fall the trapdoor of

* “Ah! I see the page coming!”

1841.— XI. 3d Ser. NN

544 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening.

the tower passes over the open and very colossal fan of my lady.
(A very refined idea!) On the wall in the interior of this tower
is written a portion of the well known song, “ Marlborough s’en
va en guerre,” &c., over every step, so that it may be sung while
ascending.

The hermitage was also introduced in like manner in numerous
gardens, because it was thought by many that an English
garden could not be without a hermitage, or a place that bore
that mame. May the young landscape-gardener, however,
abstain from mimicking such childish follies, and bear in mind
that the gardens of England have not such absurdities !

In erecting and arranging these different kinds of structures,
the greatest care must be “taken that they are not all seen at
once from any point of view. Where the temple of Love stands
on the summit of a beautiful declivity surrounded by rose trees,
there should be no temple of any other divinity seen from it, nor
any structure in any other style of architecture, no Gothic resi-
dence, nor monument of sorrow. Bridges may be an exception,
because these only belong to roads and rivers, and have no
general connexion with the other structures. ‘These different
kinds of styles would be quite in opposition one with another,
and could never be brought into one harmonious whole; and
the more so, as each structure should have a scenery adapted to
its style of architecture. ‘These new and unexpected objects,
also, strike the traveller with agreeable surprise, and his enjoy-
ment by that means is increased and exalted.

VIII. The first Proceedings on the Spot which is to form the Natural Garden.

1. When a natural garden is to be formed, the first thing
requisite for the landscape-gardener is, to make himself tho-
roughly acquainted with the spot and the surrounding scenery.
He must carefully examine, study, and contemplate all that
nature has produced within or beyond this space for the garden,
so as to judge whether he can with propriety take advantage of
any ; because, by doing this, originality, truth, time, and enjoy-
ment are not only obtained, but the expenditure is greatly
diminished. He should also avoid, as much as possible, the
too precipitate destruction and felling of trees; he should rather
bring them into connexion with matical scenes, or with those of
his own creation. Water is the life and soul of a natural garden ;
he should, therefore, do all in his power to produce such an
ornament. Nature gives us lakes, ponds, and rivers; she sends
forth springs, and produces waterfalls: the landscape-gardener
should do the same, if he possibly can. Where nature has
given him springs, he should unite them to form lakes, ponds,
or rivers, or turn them into waterfalls. When he has a flat
surface to work upon, he should raise little elevations, like small

Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 545

hills, the soil necessary for which purpose should be obtained
by excavating lakes, ponds, or rivers; and, while his imagina-
tion is occupied with the present and future picture of his own
creation, a very complete survey ought to be made of the whole
place, not omitting whatever has been effected by nature or art.

2. The fundamental lines of the new garden should then be
put on the plan, and be kept in character with the spot itself,
and with the surrounding scenery, and true to the esthetic rules
of composition. The artist must bear in mind what his present
operations will effect after a lapse of several years; because,
without taking this into consideration, the garden would only
be the work of chance, and not one produced by the funda-
mental principles of art. He should also bear in mind that the
first forms which nature or his imagination have impressed
upon his heart are generally the best to abide by when altera-
tions are necessary; at least I have always found this to be the
case from my own experience: and he should finally contem-
plate his composition from every point of view, to see what
effect is produced. It is much more difficult to form a picture
in a garden itself, than to make one on the canvass, because the
latter is only contemplated from one point of view. Of all
things, the landscape-gardener must not forget to take advan-
tage of the external natural beauties, which he must take in
when they suit his picture by means of ha-has: “you must call
in the country,” says Pope. .

3. There are, however, cases in which a working plan for the
grounds cannot be acted upon; such as a spot selected for a
garden, already furnished by nature with beautiful hills and
valleys, fine woods, rocks, rivers, lakes, and waterfalls. In such
cases the artist has only to follow up and assist nature, taking
care to retain as much as possible all the natural beauties; and,
when these are too far separated, he must bring them closer
together, still retaining the character of a natural picture. He
must, therefore, remove the less beautiful from that which is
superior, and make it predominate in the purest and most agree-
able romantic forms.

_ When any part of the ground has been disfigured, either by
the hand of man or any other circumstance, he must endeavour
to restore it to its original line of beauty; and, when a natural
wood is either too uniform or not romantic, he must enrich and
beautify it by new plantations, and in every respect make it
accord with the character of the natural garden. When rocks,
waterfalls, springs, or rivers, are concealed from view by bushes,
he must, by a prudent and judicious removal, bring them for-
ward in the landscape, without at the same time destroying, or
even lessening, that secret and lonely character which surrounds

these objects in nature.
NN 2

546 Sckel?’s Landscape-Gardening.

When a locality is chosen for a garden, which has already
beautiful woods and groups of trees, and even single specimens,
they must, if possible, be retained, and united in the forms of
the new garden. In cases where a fine wood happens to be in
a spot that is totally inconsistent with all the forms of the new
garden, where it entirely shuts out fine views, or of itself forms
no attractive feature in the landscape, the question should be
asked, How can art find its way here without condemning the
whole wood to the axe? In the first case mentioned, art must
give a new outline to the wood by a partial removal, or addition
by planting; in the second, attempts should be made by felling
badly grown trees and shrubs, and lopping off branches, to
obtain distant prospects, which would also be objects of surprise
and astonishment; and, in the last case, a romantic outline
should be given to the wood by a new plantation here and there
round its edge. Unsightly shrubs or diseased trees ought
never to be spared. The course of roads and paths can only
be studied in nature herself, and it is only from her that the
landscape-gardener can learn how to make a road wind beauti-
fully and agreeably up a hill, and down again to the valley (but
more shall be said of this in another place). The artist should
never make a plan for a garden in a neighbourhood with which
he is not well acquainted, or which he has not seen; or, if he
does so, he will commit faults for which he will never be for-
given. He should, also, not trust the execution of his plan to
men who do not understand the subject. There are many
places laid out from my plans which, in consequence of this
error, have not the least resemblance to the original, and which
I did not know again myself, and, alas! was obliged to get
altered. ‘The beauty of a natural garden depends as much on
the execution of the plan, as on the invention of the plan
itself.

IX. On Staking out and Tracing on the Ground the Forms and Outlines of
the Natural Garden, with reference to Character, Effect, and Beauty.

1. After the preceding knowledge of the locality has been
obtained, and sketches of it made when necessary, the land-
scape-gardener is now ready to draw and stake out on the spot
itself the actual outlines and forms which he had projected, and
to put the commencement of the work in operation. It is true,
that all the forms in nature cannot be mechanically delineated
and staked out, because they would be stiff, and have no
resemblance to nature; such, for example, as hills which de-
scend by degrees in gently waving lines, and unite unperceived
their convex forms with the concave formations of the valley;
these imperceptible lines of separation in both forms, this gentle
transition of the hill to the valley, cannot be defined by staking

Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 547

out, because the great danger would be incurred of producing
an artificial transition, instead of one that is natural.

2. In staking out hills and valleys, therefore, the whole art
consists in setting up single stakes to designate the place of the
former and its most elevated point; and to mark out the form
of the latter and the centre by poles. Many profiles of hills, as
well as valleys, on a large scale, can be formed from the pre-
ceding observations, and the essential forms and depths of the
concave lines of the valley in as natural a manner as‘ possible,
and without both declivities being exactly the same.

Those points, also, which the concave lines of the valley show
in the section, should be ascertained by the water-level, and
marked with pegs. Such geometrical operations are neces-
sary, as they point out to the mechanical labourer where, and
how deep, the earth ought to be excavated, so as not to occa-
sion unnecessary labour and expense; but, in this, and also in
effecting the formation of the hill and valley, the practised eye
of the landscape-gardener, and the feeling for what is beautiful
in nature, will be found to be the best guides.

3. In staking out the outlines of the woods, thickets, and
groups, the practice is very different. ‘These must be performed
with the tracing-staff and with a bold hand, not minutely, but
only those principal large powerful outlines, which are capable
of producing the greatest effect, and which cannot be expected
from many small bends and turns. Such forest boundary lines
should often project in bold masses of wood, and they should
then recede in like manner, but without the repetition being the
same.

We often observe on the outskirts of the natural wood very
considerable spaces quite void of trees, and running back into
the very depths of the forest, so that they become quite lost
to the eye. These recesses are always covered with the richest
green carpet of turf; and these, in the secret darkness of the
forest, are of equal importance in producing an exceedingly
agreeable effect, whether in the general landscape, or in the art
of gardening. The side of the forest the farthest from the sun
casts a powerful shade, which has a fine effect in the landscape;
the other side, on the contrary, is in a full splendour of light;
and, at last, both are lost in a solemn darkness.

4. When, therefore, a wood in a garden has similar bold and
expressive outlines; when light and shade are picturesquely
distributed over it; when the forms of the foreground, and also
that of the background, are beautiful, and clearly and dis-
tinctly separated from each other; when the foreign and
native trees are mixed together in proud masses, and _har-
moniously grouped ; when novelty of colour and form are every-

where apparent, and not to be seen in the natural landscape,
NN 3

548 Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening.

then the art of gardening triumphs, having not only made
a faithful imitation of nature, but (although, it is true, with the
help of her own treasures from other parts of the world) en-
riched and beautified, and even transformed, the whole into a
garden itself.

5. On similar outlines made by the tracing-staff, whether for
the form of the wood or groups, stakes should be fixed 20 ft.,
30 ft.. and 50 ft. apart. When this is done, the line made by
the tracing-staff must be carefully effaced, and it ought not to be
touched again either with the hoe or in any other way, as
is usually the case*, with the intention of producing openings in
the outskirts of the plantation. Nature exhibits no such sharp
and manifest lines in the contour of the forest, but rather a
continuation of forms and objects that present no decided line
or figure.

6. If so decided a line were effected even by the most skilful
Jandscape-gardener, and trees regularly planted on it, it could
never be put in competition with the invisible line formed by
nature round the outskirts of the forest. ‘The numerous retreat-
ing and projecting points which nature continually displays in
the great outline of the forest should be, in a great measure,
left to chance, and effected in the following manner.

7. The workmen are distributed among the stakes, which
(after the line made by the tracing-staff has been effaced) only
serve to show the grand and principal characteristic features ;
and it is by these that the first gaps in the outline of the forest
should be formed among the trees, so as to appear as if they
had occurred by chance; and in this way all the small projecting
and retreating points of the natural forest are the best imitated.
In places, however, where by accident a straight line has been
formed, or where the outline does not assume an zesthetic cha-
racter, the defect can be remedied by forming new openings,
and by effacing others which are already made.

8. It may be seen further from this, that the forest should
never be surrounded by a soft wavy-formed outline. In nature,
as has already been stated, it presents a very different character.
It consists of many bold, obtuse, sharp, deep, and gently
receding and projecting irregularities; and it is only by such

* Tt must here, however, be remembered, that, in digging round bushes or
groups (which is unavoidable during the first few years, in order to destroy
weeds and promote the growth of the trees), ugly stiff outlines, which are
quite intolerable, are frequently formed by the workmen, and by the sharp
and abrupt manner of cutting the turf round the groups and plantations.
The turf, on the contrary, instead of being trimly cut, should lose itself unseen
among the bushes ; and neither plantations nor groups should have the turf in
defined forms round them, unless you wish to act contrary to the law of
nature.

Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 549

an imitation that we can approach nature, and produce that
romantic effect of light and shade which she displays. If the
outline of a natural forest is examined, no peculiar and studied
form will be found, because such is not the case in nature.
Therefore, when trees or shrubs are planted on a line made by the
tracing-staff, however natural they may appear to be, they cannot
be said to belong to the natural outline of the forest, but entirely
to that of art.

9. When, however, all seems to have been done that art
could effect, many places may be discovered on the outline of
an extensive forest which are not sufficiently characteristic, and
are void of romantic effect. In such cases, the uniformity should
be interrupted, by planting single trees or groups along part of
the outskirts, or at a distance from it of 50, 100, or 200 feet.
Sometimes trees that have a light green colour are selected for
this purpose, as they stand out more distinctly from the forest
behind.

But, as all objects are clearer and more distinct the nearer
they are to the eye, the same kind of trees as those of the wood
behind might be used in the manner above described; and the
more so, as they are much more natural than the other kind of
trees, and unite in producing a more romantic unison. ‘There
are cases, however, in which trees of lighter tints than those in
the wood behind are very much to be preferred; such as when
the background of a wood consists of dark alders, which are not
only monotonous in their colour, but have a gloomy and melan-
choly expression.

However unimportant the outline of the forest may appear to
those who are deficient in knowledge, or who have not a true
feeling for the beauties of nature, it will appear important to those
who are more intimately acquainted with living nature, and with
the different shades of character she assumes.

10. I must here make the following observations on the wavy
line, or line of beauty, which is so often seen in nature: —

This line is but too little known by a great many young
gardeners, and is therefore considered as not being very difficult
to imitate. It is true, that if such lines were formed of pure
geometric circles, and put together like the Latin S, there
would not be much art in such an imitation: but nature has
nothing to do with such an arrangement, she makes use of no
geometric circles; none of her wavy lines, which are repeated
ad infinitum, are the same: they have always a different ex-
pression in every scene, every form and feature appears new,
so that no leaf or grain of sand resembles another. Every
single object in the whole creation is defined by a wavy line, a
line in» acute angles, one that is almost straight, one that
terminates in a point, or even ome that is crooked; therefore,

NN /

550 Thinning of Forest Trees.

every object has a different form, but all is beautiful in so
much diversity. Who is not, therefore, easily convinced, that
it is extremely difficult to imitate nature in all her endless out-
lines and forms ?

11. In staking out the grove, it should be borne in mind,
that the single groups and trees along the sides of the paths, or
those that form the foreground of the picture, should never
form a straight line; that the trees in the grove stand so far
from each other, that the most of them, at least, may have room
to display their heads; that they should sometimes be quite close
together; and that the trees in the grove, although they stand
separate, and admit of views between, should form separate
scenes of themselves. When this is not attended to, when the
trees are at irregular distances, but always appear at the same
distance from each other, then the grove is no longer a natural
one; because, even in groves, nature disposes of her trees in
groups and masses true to her laws, more of which shall be
said in another place.

( To be continued. )

Art. IV. On the Thinning of Forest Trees. By GAvin CREE,
Nurseryman and Forest Pruner, Biggar.

Tue thinning of plantations is a branch of arboriculture of the
highest importance. It may be thought superfluous to enlarge
on a subject which has employed the attention of so many
eminent rural and political economists; but, be it known that
many authors, and these men of eminence too, have published
systems not at all beneficial in their practical application. Pro-
posals are often made, and results stated, without, we fear,
sufficient evidence of their accuracy. Planters, of course, adopt
the plans most agreeable to their different tastes; and thus so
many various schemes, with regard to the distance of trees, and
the mode of thinning, are in operation, that it is impossible to
reduce these plans to any given standard. a

My design, at present, is to explain, by the assistance of
a table, a system of thinning trees, which I have found to be
highly successful, after many years of experimental observation
of it. The first point to be considered is, the distance at which
trees may be planted from each other, taking into account the
height to which they may be expected to attain. Next, I shall
take the thinning of twenty-five trees, and detail the different
heights at which these thinnings should take place.

The distance at which trees should be planted from each
other cannot, in practice, be reduced to mathematical correct- _
ness; yet it is possible to make a very near approximation to

Thinning of Forest Trees. : 551

the most proper distance, making allowances for variation of
soil, degrees of latitude, and altitude. From observations and
experiments I have made, I will lay down such general rules as
shall enable planters to see the impropriety of invariably plant-
ing at the same distance in all situations, from the level of the
sea up to altitudes of 1800 ft. Trees on land, at the sea’s
level, will attain to above 100 ft. in height, in the same time
which is required to make them reach 30ft. at an altitude of
1800 ft. This fact is demonstrative of the impropriety of plant-
ing trees at the same distance in different soils and climates.
The distance ought to be regulated, likewise, by the height
which the tree may be supposed to attain. When a plantation
is resolved on, it may be necessary, or, at least, profitable, to
examine the nearest plantation (if any be near) in an advanced
state, and from it to judge of the probable height or heights the
intended plantation may ultimately arrive at. Suppose the cal-
culations regarding height to be 57 ft. 67 ft., and 85 ft., these
three numbers are marked in the fourth division and third
column of the accompanying table (p. 553.) ; and on the same
lines, to the left hand, in the first column and first division, 2 ft.
6 in. is marked as a suitable distance for the first height, 3 ft. for
the second, and 4 ft. for the third : and, in the same manner, the
table may be consulted to ascertain the distance at which trees
of any given height may be planted from each other.

Trees may be well planted, however, and yet be rendered
comparatively valueless from the want of thinning. Many
mixed woods and plantations may be seen in which the firs, not
exceeding forty years old, have almost died out, and the deci-
duous trees are often mere poles. By management such as this
displays, the proprietor renounces immense gain, and the coun-
try is disgraced. It is no less surprising than true, however,
that such imperfect growth occurs in trees under the guidance
of men who are reputed to be skilled in the management of
woods. ‘The most superficial observer must have remarked the
comparative slenderness of all plants or trees crowded together,
and the superior strength of those sufficiently distant from each
other ; though trees crowded together in plantations suffer more,
at first, from the deficiency of carbonic acid and oxygen (both
of which are required for respiration) than from a deficiency of
nutriment from the roots. ‘Trees, however, as is fully apparent,
are a part of the vegetable creation that can only be brought to
the greatest perfection by regular and sufficient support from
the soil and atmosphere; and, as they advance in height, it is
necessary to give them additional support, that they may in-
crease proportionally in circumference. ‘This can only be effected
by taking part of the trees out; which operation, at the same
time, prevents in a great measure the occurrence of disease, and.

552 Thinning of Forest Trees.

infection, if disease should .occur. When kept at regular and
sufficient distances, corresponding to their height, by stated
thinning, the trees are strengthened by the sun’s rays, air, and
motion ; and all alpine plants, and such as are exposed to fre-
quent agitation from the wind, have a firmer hold of the soil,
and live longer, than those which grow in crowded planta-
tions.

The table of distances applies equally to the thinning of
woods. It is divided into four divisions, and each division into
three columns. The first column in each division is the distance
in planting ; the second the number of trees per acre; the third
the height in feet and inches at which the different thinnings
should take place. The trees at 2 ft. 6 in. distance, 6969 per
acre: thinning to commence when these are 9 ft. 6 in. in height,
according to the first column in the second division. ‘Trees
at 5 ft., 1742 per acre: second thinning should commence when
16 ft. 2in. in height. ‘Trees at 10 ft., 435 per acre: third thin-
ning should commence when 30 ft. 4in. in height. ‘Trees at
20 ft., 108 per acre: at this distance trees have sufficient room
to attain to the height of 57 ft. 2 in.

[In the Farmer’s Register, published at Glasgow some years
ago, is given an engraved illustration of Mr. Cree’s mode of
planting and thinning trees; but, as we do not think it necessary
to the understanding of Mr. Cree’s very plain and excellent di-
rections, we have omitted it. ]

The theory adapted to the practical principles of thinning mixed
woods and plantations is calculated to inches, and demonstrated
on the same plan: if it makes the nearest possible approximation
to practical correctness, it is all that can be expected. When
trees are planted at 2ft. 6 in. distance, and have risen to the
average height of 9 ft., then each alternate tree of each alternate
row, that is at the height or above the height of 9 ft., should be
taken out: those below this height may stand till they arrive
at it.

When any part of a plantation is much exposed to the wind,
1 or 2 feet, or thereabouts, should be taken off the tops of the
trees intended to be cut, this being the most effectual way of re-
taining the shelter, and protecting the others from the effect of
high winds.

Next season continue the thinning of the next alternate rows
on the same plan; and the trees that had been left formerly
from not being 9 ft. high, if now that height, may be taken out
or shortened. ‘The trees will now be (mostly) distant 5 ft. by
2 ft. 6 in.

Three or four seasons afterwards the trees may be 14 ft. high;
then the alternate rows which have been thinned must have
those left on account of shortness either taken out or shortened.

553

Thinning of Forest Trees.

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554 Thinning of Forest Trees.

The remaining trees will be at the average distance of 5 ft.
All this, whether clearly expressed or not, means that, at this
stage of the process, all the trees are to be distant 5 ft., which
may be considered as the first thorough thinning. The second
thinning should begin when the trees are 16 ft. high averagely,
and be conducted in the same regular manner as the former.
It may be supposed that about six years will bring them to
25 or 26 feet, and several years more to 30 ft., when the third
thinning should begin, to be carried on in the same regular
manner as to time, corresponding, likewise, with the calculations
of the table.

All extensive woods and plantations, whatever the variation
of soil or altitude, when properly thinned, receive shelter in all
directions, one part flanking and protecting another from the ef-
fects of high winds. At whatever distance trees are planted,
the same directions equally apply. Belts and clumps, of small
breadth or size, can in nowise be defended from the effect or
straining of high winds but by early and accurate thinnings.
The lateral branches ought to be shortened, too, and allowed
to remain on the trees from the bottom upwards, the same as on
the outsides of ail plantations, whereby the trees are sheltered,
and the neighbourhood converted from bleakness and sterility,
perhaps, to warmth and productiveness.

Silver and spruce larch and Scotch firs, on hilly or mountain
land, may be allowed to stand closer than the table indicates, as
they receive more sun and air in proportion to the acclivities on
which they stand. Silver and spruce fir will grow at considera-
ble altitudes, provided the soil be suitable: these must be allowed
to stand so close that the under branches may die for want of air.
Where timber is alone required, Scotch firs should have a good
soil and moderate altitude. Larch is a mountain tree, and will
attain to a large size at high altitudes. It is stated that on the
north-east side of the Alps the finest trees are found; and in all
our mountain districts the same law prevails. The south-west
sides of the hills in this district, at 1000 ft. altitude, are destitute
of soil; whereas, on the reverse side, larch will attain a large
size at 1600 ft. of altitude.

Large plantations cannot be thinned exactly in the regular
manner laid down in the table. In these it may sometimes be
necessary to let the trees stand closer than there prescribed ; and
when two or three are closely situated, if there be intervals
to give air around, they should stand. Plantations which have
not been regularly and gradually thinned lie under great disad-
vantages. When fully thinned at an improper time, the trees,
having overgrown themselves in height, become high without
corresponding strength of stem; and, when acted on by high
winds, the stem and roots are strained, or, perhaps, the tree

Pruning Trees. 55D

overturned, on the same principle as any weight or force acts on
a lever. When wind is of such force as to be equal to a pressure
of from 12 lb. to 17 lb. on the square foot, the pine and fir tribe
are often so injured that they show symptoms of decay and die.
Larch, of all trees, is most susceptible of injury from high winds
and the neglect of thinning. Spring should be well advanced,
and the trees breaking out into leaf, before the thinning of
neglected plantations commences; being partly exposed by the
thinning, the action of light and air contributes, in an eminent
degree, to the strength and quality of the timber. It is said that
isolated oaks, fully exposed to the influence of light, form a more
durable timber than the same species which have grown in dense
forests: so with other species.

Different opinions undoubtedly prevail regarding the sub-
ject of distances in planting, some preferring one distance and
some another; the same with respect to the time and modes of
thinning: but, being convinced by experience of the utility of my
method, I should like to have the reasons of opposition from
those who disagree with me.

Biggar, Sept. 1841.

Art. V. On Pruning Trees. By PETER MACKENZIE.

WE are informed by old writers that the ancients held the
pruning of trees to be of so much benefit that they had a god-
dess who presided over the operation. Her Ladyship would
probably be installed into that office by old Sylvanus, the re-
puted deity of the woods and forests; and in their deep recesses
they could say —

— -“ Lucis habitamus opacis.”
[We dwell in shady groves.]

Whether her local habitation was in the Lucus Petelinus, or
in the groves of Pontus, or in merry Sherwood, or in the Sylva
Caledonia, I am not informed; but one thing is certain, if ever
there were such persons, real or imaginary, they have long since
forsaken this part of the world, and gone I know not whither,
perhaps to the celestial empire, and left us under the influence
of Discordia. It is not to be wondered at that our arboriculturists
should differ so much both in opinion and practice regarding the
cutting of a branch, when they divide and continue to diverge so
far concerning the junction of a leaf.

Mr. Cree tells us of the large healthy leaves produced by
his system of pruning, and shows us, upon physiological prin-
ciples, that by means of them a large increase of wood is pro-

556 Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices,

duced in the trunk of the tree; but Evelyn and his followers
would call them “ phyllomania which spent all the joyce in the
leaves, to the prejudice of the rest of the parts.” But I have no
doubt, if these worthies were alive, and placed under Mr. Cree’s
tuition, they would soon embrace his doctrines, and would not
be long in publishing their recantation to the world. Dr. Liebig,
in his Organie Chemistry, says: ‘* ‘The power of absorbing nu-
triment from the atmosphere, with which the leaves of plants
are endowed, being proportionate to the extent of their surface,
every increase in the size and number of these parts is neces-
sarily attended with an increase of nutritive power, and a con-
sequent further developement of new leaves and branches.” But
as every possessor of young plantations has not studied vege-
table physiology, and as there are many methods of pruning
forest trees before the public, and as some of them appear plau-
sible enough upon paper, it is but right to give them a fair trial
in practice. This Mr. Cree is willing to do, and invites his
opponents to do the same. I intend to do it upon a small scale
with a young plantation of oaks, and will endeavour to do justice
to all parties, if I can understand their methods from the de-
scriptions given in the works of those who have written on the
subject. If this plan were adopted in various parts of the king-
dom, in different soils and situations, it might soon be ascertained
which is the best system of pruning, in order to produce the
best timber. No doubt many obstacles will stand in the way of
the working of such a plan, the chief of these will be prejudice.
It is no easy matter for some who have been accustomed to work
to one plan, or perhaps no plan at all, to break through their
ordinary routine of sawing and hacking. Every innovation is
reckoned by them as newfangled nonsense; and an improved
method of doing a thing is treated by them with scorn and
neglect, until it is forced by ocular demonstration upon their
obtuse intellects. It would be desirable to see foresters and,
forests keeping pace with the improvement of the times; and
whatever may be said respecting trees of other lands, may every
lover of his country be enabled to say —

“ Who will, another tree may sing ;
Old England’s Oak for me.”

West Plean, Oct. 4.1841.

supplementary to Enc. of Plants, Hort. Brit. and Arb. Brit. 557

to the ‘* Encyclopedia of Plants,” the ‘“‘ Hortus Britannicus,” the
“ Hortus Lignosus,’ and the “ Arboretum et Fruticetum Britan-
nicum.”

Edwards’s Botanical Register ; in monthly numbers, new series, each
containing six plates; 3s. 6d. coloured, 3s. plain. Edited by
Dr. Lindley, Professor of Botany in the University College,
London.

Pasion’s Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants ;
in monthly numbers; large 8vo; Qs. 6d. each.

The Ladies’ Magazine of Gardening; in monthly numbers; 8vo,
with coloured plates; 1s.6d. each. Edited by Mrs. Loudon.

Ranunculdcee.

1622. dNEMO‘NE
montana Horé. mountain y or 1 jn P Switzerland 1830. D co Bot. gard. 795.

A pretty little plant, apparently a variety of the old A. Pulsatilla (Pulsatilla
vulgaris W.). Imported by Messrs. Loddiges. (Bot. Gard., July.)

Berberidez.

1090. BE’ RBERIS
Coriaria Royle tanner’s % or 4 jn Y Nepal 1835. L co _ Bot. reg. 1841, 46.

This plant is distinguished from the other Nepal species by its red fruit ;
and also, Dr. Lindley tells us, “from B. asiatica it differs in its finely veined
leaves, and larger flowers; from B. aristata in its more lanceolate leaves, and
shorter and less corymbose racemes; and from B. floribanda in its short ra-
cemes, large flowers, and much smaller foliage.” It is quite hardy, and flowers
in June. It may be increased by seeds, which it ripens freely, and which
should be sown as soon as ripe ; or by layers, which are “two years before
they are fit to separate from the parent plant.” (Bot. Reg., Aug.)

Violaridcee.
SCHWEIGGE‘RIA Spreng. (Professor Schweigger, one of the authors of a Flora of Erlangen.) —
pauciflora Martius few-flowered w ({_} cu 2 ... W Brazil ... C co Bot. reg. 1841, 40.

Synonyme : Glossarrhen paucifldrus Dec.
A stove shrub, nearly allied to the violet, and requiring the same treatment
“as ixoras and other plants of that description.” (Bot. Reg., July.)

Pittospordcee.

MARIA/NTHUS Link. (From Maria, Mary, and anthos a flower; in honour of the Virgin Mary.)
ceruleo-punctatus Link, Klotz, et Otto _blue-spotted ¢@ |] or 4 mr B Swan River 1840. S
Synonyme : Campylanthéra élegans Hort. [s.p Ladies’ mag. of gard. t.’7.; Bot. mag. 3893.

A very elegant twiner from the Swan River, which, when well grown, is
very ornamental. The best we have seen in flower was at Henderson’s

558 Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices,

Nursery, Pine-apple Place, Edgeware Road. (Ladies’ Mag. of Gard., July ;
and Bot. Mag., Sept.)
Malvacee.

9023. SI‘DA (Abitzlon)
Bedfordiéna Hook. Dukeof Bedford’s @ or 15 n Y.R Brazil 1838. C co Bot. mag. 3892.

A small tree, a native of the Organ Mountains in Brazil, closely resembling
Abuitilon picta, which is also called Sida by Sir W. J. Hooker. The present
species requires a stove in Britain. (Bot. Mag., Sept.)

Oxalidee.

1414. O/X ALIS (3896.
lasiandra Graham downy-stamened y A or 13 my Pk Mexico 1840. D co Bot. mag.

This very pretty species of O’xalis “approaches most nearly to O. deca-
phylla, or perhaps O. Hernandésii; it differs from these, however, in the
entire leaflets, the number and appearance of the hairs on their surface, the
number of the flowers in the umbel, their colour, the spotting at the apex of
the sepals, and in the unequal stamens.” Mr. J. M‘Nab saw it in Berlin, cul-
tivated as an edging to the walks ; and it is there not above 9 in. high, though
it reached 1 ft. 6 in. in Edinburgh. (Bot. Mag., Sept.)

11901. fruticdsa Bot. Reg. 1841, 41.
Rutdcee.
1152. BORO‘NI4
triphylla Steb. three-leaved - _] pr 2 Pk NewHolland 1840. C s.p Bot. reg. 1841, 47.
Synonyme : B. ledifolia Paxton.
This plant, Dr. Lindley says, though called B. /edifolia in the nurseries,
“has no resemblance to the true B. ledifolia ; an old greenhouse shrub, with
simple leaves, figured years ago in Ventenat’s Plants of Malmaison, under the
name of Lasiopétalum ledifolium.” The present species is a pretty little
shrub, with an abundance of dark pink or rose-coloured flowers. It “ requires
nearly the same treatment as the smaller kinds of Diésma; and, like most
hard-wooded plants, should have a light sandy soil, which is rather poor.” (Bot.
Reg., Sept. ; and Part. Mag. of Bot., July.)

Leguminose.
1249. CALLY’STACHYS

linearis Benth. linear = |_| pr 2 o R Swan River 1838. C s.p Bot. mag. 3882.
Synonyme ; C. sérdida Grak.
This species was received under the name of the Crimson Callistachys, but
its blossoms are too few and small to warrant the expectations raised of its
beauty. It flowers in October. (Bot. Mag., July.)

1943. BOSSIZE‘A [Bot. mag. 3895.

tenuicatlis Grahk. slender-stemmed .X ,_J, or 3 mr Y Van Diemen’s Land 1836. C. s.p

A procumbent shrub, with long, slender, straggling branches, and a profusion
of yellow flowers. (Bot. Mag., Sept.) Dr. Lindley thinks this species “is too
near B. cinerea.” (Bot. Reg., Oct.)

disticha Lindl. two-rowed sw {_] pr 2 mr Y Swan River 1840. C s.p Bot. reg. 1841, 55,
“A pretty little shrub,” raised from Swan River seeds, imported by Captain
Mangles. “It has an erect habit, but its branches are slender and weak, and
covered with leaves in a two-ranked manner ; the latter are ovate, obtuse, not
at all hard, and scarcely half the length of the capillary flower-stalks. The
flowers are rather large for the size of the plant, and showy.” (Bot. Reg., Oct.)

1246. CHORO’/ZEMA [45.; Bot. mag. 3903.
spectabile Lindl. showy $ tt} pr 2 my O.R Swan River 1840 S.C s.p.l Bot. reg. 1841,

A Swan River twining shrub, with long drooping racemes of orange-coloured
flowers. It produces seeds in abundance, and cuttings strike readily in silver
sand. It is, however, very liable to be attacked by the red spider. (Bot.
Reg., Aug.) Inthe Bot. Mag. the following observations are made on the
derivation of the word Chorozema. “De Theis derives this word from
chorizo, to separate; because the fruit is distinctly separated into two equal
parts. If Smith’s derivation be correct, in the ninth volume of the Transac-

3 supplementary to Ene, of Plants, Hort. Brit., and Arb. Brit. 559

tions of the Linnean Society, the word ought to be Chorozema, with the e
short: but La Billardiére expressly writes it Chorizema; and SirJ. Smith
himself, in a subsequent publication, gives the preference to De Theis’s deriva-
tion, though he thinks it rather alludes to the free or separated stamens, than
to the splitting of the fruit.” (Bot. Mag., Oct.)

3525. CLIA/NTHUS [reg. 1841, 51.
carneus Lindl. flesh-coloured $ |_| or 6 ap.my Pk [Philip’s Island 1840. C rm Bot.
Synonyme : Streblorhiza speciosa Endl.

This plant is evidently a species of Clianthus, from which it differs princi-
pally in the colour of its flowers, which are pink instead of scarlet. It grows
best in a rich strong soil, in the free ground, and only requires protection from
frost. It is easily propagated by cuttings. (Bot. Reg., Sept.)

1264. MIRBE‘LIA [mag. of bot. vol. viii. p. 103.
floribGnda Lindl. many-flowered % J or 2 mr.ap P Swan River 1838. € s.l.p Paxt.
This is an evergreen plant, about 2 ft. high, loaded with rich purple flowers,

which it retains during the whole of the months of March and April, when
gay-flowering plants in pots are particularly desirable. (Pawt. Mag. of Bot.,
June.)

10627 speciosa Bot. Reg. 1841, 58.

“ There appears to be little difference between this and M. floribanda, except
in the very short lucid retuse leaves, deeper flowers, and more hairy calyxes \
and branches of the latter, which is a Swan River shrub of greater beauty
than this.” (Bot. Reg., Oct.)

3673. ZYCHY A [mag. of bot. vol. viii. p. 147.
pannosa?Hort. ‘wrinkled-leaved $ | or 6 my Dk.C Swan River 1840. C sl Paxt.

This very beautiful species is nearly allied to Z. tricolor, but “it is readily
distinguished by having stronger stems, which are clothed with brown hairs to
their summits ; shorter, rounder, thicker, and more prominently nerved leaves,
the stalks of which are also covered with brown pubescence ; a prominent
dark-velvety down on the calyxes, and denser heads of flowers.” It grows
best in loamy soil, and should have abundance of pot room. It looks best
trained round a cylindrical trellis. (Paxt. Mag. of Bot., Aug.)

Rosdcee.

1528. POTENTI’LLA
insignis Royle showy Y A or 4 su Y Nepal 1840. D co _ Bot. reg. 1841, 37.

A very splendid species, nearly allied to several of the other kinds imported
from the East, which Dr. Lindley thinks “ may be all one and the same thing,
modified by soil and situation.” It is quite hardy, and flowers all the summer.
(Bot. Reg., July.)

1522. ROSA ; an
devoniénsis Hort. Devonshire, Paxton’s Mag. of Bot. vol. viii. p. 169.

A hybrid rose of “a very vigorous habit, with thick, glossy, dark green
foliage, and producing a profusion of flowers.” The petals are more thick and
fleshy than in roses in general ; and the flower, which is very large, is cream-
coloured, deepening into a pale yellow in the centre. The whole stock of
this rose is in the nursery of Lucombe, Pince, and Co., Exeter. (Pazt. Mag.
of Bot., Sept.)

Stylidee.
2581. STYLY’DIUM 4
cilidttum Lindl. ciliated Yy AJ cu 1 ap.my Pa.Y SwanRiver 1840. D s.p Bot. mag. 3883.

This curious plant was described in Lindley’s Sketch of the Botany of the
Swan River Colony. ‘The flowers are of a pale yellow, and the whole plant is —
covered with hairs. (Bot. Mag., July.)

Composite.

9413, TITHO‘NIA i (3901.
ovata Hook. ovate O or 4 au Y Mexico 1840. NS) co Bot. mag.

A tall showy annual, with coarse foliage and yellow flowers. A native of
Mexico, flowering in autumn, and quite hardy in the open air. (Bot. Mag.,
Oct.)

1841.—XI. 3d Ser. 00

it ae
ew

560 Botanical, Floricultural, and Arboricultural Notices,

2393. HELICHRY‘SUM : [gard. pl. 9.
spectabile G. Don showy OJ or 2 my.jl Cr Swan River 1841. S co Ladies’ mag. of

A very showy robust species, with pale yellow or cream-coloured flowers. ,
Raised by Mr. Hopgood of the Bayswater Nursery, from Swan River seeds
imported by Captain Mangles. (Ladies’ Mag. of Gard., Sept.)

Goodenovie. 2
614. LECHENAU’LTIA [vol. viii. p. 151.

biloba Lindl. two-lobed w ._J] or 1 jn B N. Holland 1840. C sp Paxt. mag. of bot.
A pretty little plant from New Holland, remarkable for the contrast af-
forded by the colour of its flowers, which are a deep blue, to those of the other
species, which are scarlet. It requires the same treatment as L. formosa.
(Paxt. Mag. of Bot., Aug.)
Ericacee.

81738. ERVCA ir
Jacksoniz Paxt. Mag. of Bot. vol. viii. p. 149.

A hybrid heath, raised by Mr. Jackson of Twickenham, between £.
Irbydxa and E. retérta, which begins to flower in July, and continues to
September. (Pazxt. Mag. of Bot., Aug.)

Asclepiadacee.
3622. PHYSIA’/NTHUS
aurfcomus Grah. golden-haired $ (1) pr 20 o W Brazil 1836. C sp Bot. mag. 3891.

This species has smaller flowers than P. albens, and the stems are com-
pletely covered with spreading golden yellow hairs. It is a native of Brazil,
and probably more tender than P. albens, which grows freely in the open air.
(Boi. Mag., Aug.)

Thymele*‘e.

1197. DA’/PHNE [p. 175.
japonica Sieb, Japan & _] or 2 f.mr Pk Japan 1840. C co Paxt. mag. of bot. vol. viii.

This species is remarkable “for the broad yellow margin of its fine ever-
green leaves, and for the delicious scent of its pretty flowers.” It will pro-
bably prove hardy. (Pawxt. Mag. of Bot., Sept.)

Apocynee.

548. TABERNEZX MONTA‘NA
dichétoma Roxb. forked @ [1] or 12 s.o W Ceylon 1840. C r.m Bot. reg. 1841, 53.

A fragrant and showy stove tree, “resembling a Plumiéria in appearance,”
which flowered lately in the moist stove at Syon. It grows “from 12 ft. to
16 ft. high, with a peculiarly dark and glossy foliage, and delightfully fragrant
flowers.” (Bot. Reg., Oct.)

Bignoniacee.

1706. BIGNO‘NJA
speciisa showy $ [-] or 20 ap.my Pk Uraguay 1838. C s.1 ‘Bot. mag. 3888.

A showy stove species of Bignonia, with pink or pale purple flowers. The
stem is woody. It was sent home from Buenos Ayres by Mr. Tweedie, who
found it in Uraguay. (Bot. Mag., Aug.)

Convolvuldcee.

A
-
¥
FS
¥
y

492. CONVO’/LVULUS 4234 scoparius
Synonyme : Rhodorhiza scoparia Webb.

This plant Mr. Webb makes the type of a new genus, “ distinguished from
Convolvulus principally by its one-celled, and one- or two-seeded capsule ; the
dehiscence of which, when thoroughly ripe, takes place irregularly from the
base upwards, its valves being obliterated.” (Bot. Reg., Sept.)

491. IPOMGE A

batatoides Benth. Batata-like $ [-] or 6 su P.C Mexico 1840. C lp.s Bot. reg. 1841, 36.

This is one of the plants which supply the jalap of the druggists. It is a
tuberous-rooted climber, which “seems to require a higher temperature than
the common greenhouse, but not so high as the damp stove.” The flowers
are of a rich purple, with the star of dark crimson. (Bot. Reg., July.)

supplementary to Enc. of Plants, Hort. Brit., and Arb. Brit. 561

Scrophulariacee.
55. SCHIZA’NTHUS

Evansidnus Paxt. Mag. of Bot. vol. viii. p. 171. \

A hybrid Schizanthus, raised in 1839 by Mr. Evans, gardener at New Hall,
near Salisbury. It is very pretty, and bears most resemblance to S. pinnatus.
(Pact. Mag. of Bot., Sept.)

Labiate.

76. SA’LVIA
confertifolia var. Bot. Mag. 3899.

A pretty short-flowered variety of the Brazilian Sélvia. (Bot, Mag., Oct.)

[1841, 39.
hians Benth. gaping xzA pr 1 my.jn?B Cashmere 1839. D co _ Bot. reg.
A pale blue-flowered Salvia, from Cashmere, which is quite hardy in British

gardens. It is generally propagated by dividing the root ; and, when raised

from seed, it does not flower till the second season. (Bot. Reg., July.)

tubifera Cav. tube-bearing w |_] or 8} on R Mexico 1840. Cc co Bot.
This half-shrubby species has much the habit of the old S. /amiifolia or
amee‘na, but “is greatly superior in point of beauty. It forms a bush about
3 ft. high, branching, and well covered with leaves ;”’ the branches terminating
in long drooping racemes of slender purplish pink flowers. It requires a
greenhouse, as it flowers in autumn and winter. (Bot Reg., Aug.)
Acanthaceeé.
3659. STROBILA’NTHES
séssilis Grah. sessile ye (A) pr 4 o Li India 1833. D co _ Bot. mag. 3902.
This stove perennial was sent to Great Britain in 1833 by Dr. Lush of
Bombay. (Bot. Mag., Oct.)

Orchidaceae.

2554. EPIDE/NDRUM [3885.
Graham: Hook. Dr.Graham’s [AX] or 2 s B.Y.R Mexico 1840. D p.r.w Bot. mag.
This species belongs to the group Encyclium, and is a native of Mexico.

(Bot. Mag., July.) Dr. Lindley thinks it the same as E. altissimum. (Bot.
Reg., Sept.)

[mag. 3898.
calocheilum Hook. beautiful-lipped € (Q) or 2 s.o B. Y Guatemala 1839. D p.r.w Bot.

Another species belonging to the group Encyclium, greatly resembling the
preceding species. (Bot. Mag., Oct.)
2569. ANGRAXCUM
bilobum Lindl two-lobed or 4 s W CapeCoast 1830. D p.r.w Bot. reg 1841, 35.
A pretty epiphyte with pendulous racemes of fragrant white flowers, slightly
tinged with pink. It is a native of Cape Coast. (Bot. Reg., July.)

2593. CYMBI’/DIUM [1841, 38.
pubéscens Lindl. pubescent € [A] or 1 o C.G.Y Sincapore 1834. D p.r.w Bot. reg.

A pretty species from Sincapore, with drooping racemes of crimson, green,
and yellow flowers. (Bot. Reg., July.)

2559. EXRIA. we [Bot. reg. 1841, 42.
armeniaca Lindl. apricot-coloured € (AX) or 1 o O.C Philippine Isles 1384. D. p.xr.w

A very showy plant, from its bright orange bracts, and crimson flowers.
“Tt should be potted in turfy peat or sphagnum, and grown in the warmest
end of a damp stove.” (Bot. Reg., Aug.)

ODONTOGLO’SSUM [48.
pulchéllum Bate. pretty @ (A) or 1 f W.Y.C Guatemala 1840. D p.x.w Bot. reg. 1841,
The most striking features in this species “ are the long thin pseudo-bulbs,

the very narrow grassy leaves, and the singular protuberance at the base of

the white lip. This protuberance is deep yellow, spotted with crimson, very
fleshy, fine, and shining ; and it is almost horseshoe-shaped in front, while it is
distinctly three-lobed behind, in consequence of two deep depressions.” This is
one of the Orchidacez which “require less heat than is generally kept in our
moist stoves.” (Bot. Reg., Sept.) ks

toe)

562 General Notices.

2547, DENDRO‘BIUM
discolor Lindi. dull-coloured €& (XJ or 4 o Y.B Java 1838. D p.r.w Bot. reg. 1841, 52.

A singular plant, “ with stout erect stems, 4 ft. high, swollen in the middle,
and with terminal racemes of about sixteen dingy yellowish brown flowers, as
much curled and wavy as those of a gloriosa.” (Bot. Reg., Sept.)

[mag. of bot. vol. viii. p. 97.
macrophfllum Zodd. broad-leaved ¢ [A] spl 2 ap Li Manilla 1838. D p.xr.w Paxt.
A most splendid plant, with thick pendulous stems, thickly covered with

leaves, and of nearly the same size throughout. The leaves are thick, short,
and broad, of a very deep green, and quite sessile. The flowers are very large
and showy, and they are produced from twenty to thirty on each drooping
stem. The plant should be grown on a block of wood. (Paxt. Mag. of Bot.,
June.)

9542, COSLO/GYNE 29732 cristata Bot.’ Reg. 1841, 57.
GALEA/’NDRA Lindl. (Galea, helmet, anér, stamen; from the helmet-shaped crest of the anther.)

Devoniana Lindl. Duke of Devonshire’s «& (A) 2 ap.my W.Pk_ S. America 1840. D

[p-r-w Bot. No. 231.; Paxt. mag. of bot. vol. vill.

This very handsome orchidaceous plant was first figured in Dr. Lindley’s
Sertum Orchidaceum, and named by him in honour of the Duke of Devonshire.
“It produces large round stems, terminated by elegant half-drooping foliage,
from amongst which the lovely flowers are protruded in upright racemes.
They are remarkable for the size and elegant markings of their labellum.”
(Pazt. Mag. of Bot., Aug.; and Botanst, Aug.)

3516. BURLINGTO'NIA [p. 193.
rigida Lindi. rigid &[) pr 1 ap Pk. W ? 1838. D p.r.w Paxt. mag. of bot. vol. viii.

“The plant, consisting of several pseudo-bulbs, is growing in a pot filled
with heath soil and potsherds ; and from each of the pseudo-bulbs a long, rigid,
wire-like stem ascends, developing a new bulb at its summit,” from which a
quantity of white roots descend. The next year the same process takes place ;
and, when the stems are trained to a cylindrical trellis, the effect 1s very singular.
(Paxt. Mag. of Bot., Oct.)

9540. ONCY DIUM
monoceras Hook. one-horned ¢ (A) pr 2 ja Y RioJaneiro 1839. D~p.xr.w Bot. mag, 3890.

A small-flowered species of Oncidium, chiefly remarkable for a solitary
horn-like process on the upper lip, curved upwards, and almost as long as
the lip itself. (Bot. Mag., Aug.)

Tulipaceze.

1017. TU‘LIPA 29311 patens Agardh.
Synonyme : T. tricolor Ledeb., Bot. Mag. t. 3887

1016. ZY’ LIUM 30172 speciosum var. alba Paxt. Mag. of Bot. vol. viii. p. 127.

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.
Art. I. General Notices.

SENDING Home Seeds from warm Climates.—I may just observe that, in respect
to packing seeds, it has been found that they should neither be put in the hold
of the vessel, nor suspended immediately under the roof of the cabin, as in both
situations they are liable to be affected by the steam of the ship. If they are
suspended midway between the floor of the cabin and the ceiling, they have
most chance of not being injured by the steam of the vessel. This was told
mein York about a week ago by Mr. James Backhouse, who has been be-
tween nine and ten years travelling in Australia and Africa, and has sent
home a great many seeds to his brother, the eminent York nurseryman. Mr.
Backhouse further observes that the best mode of sending home seeds from
warm climates is by post.—7Z’. S. Oct. 5. 1841.

_ The Solar Ray, or beam of light, may be divided or decomposed into
light, heat, and colour. Heat and electricity are now most generally supposed

General Notices. 563

to be similar, or perhaps identical, in their nature. The beam, or ray, of light
has no sensible heat high up in the atmosphere, and it is only the refraction
and reflection of the atmosphere and other bodies which make it sensible. —
R. May, 1840.

Ou-Paper Frames, or hand-frames covered with oil-paper, generate more
heat than glass frames, or hand-frames glazed with glass, for reasons which
may be deduced from the facts stated in the foregoing paragraph.—JZdem.

The Potting-bench Instrument, 1 find a most useful article for mixing dif-
ferent moulds, and also for potting. The form is such that it will convey
mould into the smallest pot. It is made of sheet iron. It is a half-cylinder,
with a piece on the top as a brace, and a handle standing up, so as to clear the
hand well from the potting-bench ; in a word, if I were to say it is a coal-
scuttle in miniature, with a handle at the end, you have a full description of
it. Mine is 7 in. long, 24 in. deep at the handle, and 4 in. over at the top.
The handle is 5in. long. The edges of the iron are turned up to make it
strong, except the fore part for sliding along the bench.—J. D. Parkes. Dart-
ford Nursery, May 12. 1841.

A Forcing-House which may be applied to various Purposes. —1 would have
the back part of the house heated by a row of hot-water pipes, the pipes to
run along the back of the path; I would have two stop-cocks in the hot-
water pipes immediately at their entering the house from the boiler, by which
means the water in the pipes.could be cut off from. that contained in the boiler
at pleasure ; at the same time I would insert a pipe in the top of the boiler,
and bring it into the house where the hot-water pipes enter, and run it closely
under the hot-water pipes. I would have a few holes perforated in this pipe,
so that the steam would escape into the house, and thus the boiler would
serve two purposes. I feel confident there is nothing better for promoting
the growth of pines and cucumbers than steam, if cautiously used. On the
top of the hot-water pipes I would have dishes, but the one to be in con-
junction with the other, in such a manner, that by a tap running into one dish
at the end it would fill the whole of the dishes.

As to the heating of the front of the house, I would have a trench made for
a lining of dung, and _ have boards to fit neatly over the top, so as to keep the
dung out of sight. The thickness of the front wall I would have about the
length of a brick, and it should be pigeon-holed from top to bottom. I would also
have a vacuity inside, betwixt a slate flag and the front wall; the flag to be
about 2 in. in thickness, and built from bottom to nearly the top of the front
wall, in order that the heat of the dung might act against it. I would
also have one row of ventilators fixed on the slates, so as that I could either
admit the steam from the dung into the house or not at pleasure. In some
cases the dung might go round all the house, except where the door and
boiler might happen to be; and when the dung was in good order, the fire
might be at that time altogether discontinued. All the cucumbers. that are
grown here are grown ina house ; and I feel confident no one would trou-
ble himself with frames, if he saw the great quantity of fruit that is grown
here all the year round. — Charles Ewing. Knowlesley Hall Gardens, May 3.
1840.

An Ice-House under Rockwork, — I lately made a piece of rockwork upon
a spot that is very limited, where space is of the greatest consequence, and ma-
terials to constitute bulk not easily procured. Under these circumstances, I
made, as it were, a framework of arches, whereby much useful room was
gained, and considerable materials saved. Others so situated may profit by
the hint. I do not send a sketch of the ground plan, as the dimensions may
be entirely suited to the nature of the spot operated upon. The height
within, however, ought not to be less than 7 ft., for the convenience of per-
forming any operations that may be necessary.

Such a place as that represented might, with great propriety, be made the
entrance to an ice-well, when the materials excavated would do much towards
forming the erection outside. Forming the interior (when conyenient) into

003

564 General Notices.

cellars for coals or other matters would also answer the same purpose. The
structure in question is not sunk lower than the general level of the surface,
being originally intended to preserve roots, or stow away lumber : but the uni-
form and moist atmosphere maintained within led me to think it well suited
to grow mushrooms, and it has been found to do this perfectly ; as a bed
made up in September is in bearing now, and has produced mushrooms of
excellent quality. As some part of this place is only separated from the ex-
ternal air by a 14-inch wall, the severe weather in winter checked the growth
for a short time, but did not prove otherwise hurtful, as it immediately com-
menced upon the introduction of some hot dung to raise the temperature,
which in a structure so confined is easily done. Had this precaution been
taken in time, no check whatever need have been felt. Such a place admir-
ably suits this purpose during summer, as the great body of surrounding ma-
terial keeps every thing inside uniformly cool. Were it upon a scale that
would be too extensive, it would require air-tight divisions, to confine the
humid and somewhat heated air surrounding the mushrooms, which would
prove injurious to most things that might be deposited there.— NV. M. T.
Folkstone, May 27. 1841.

Economical Planting. — For planting trees in plantations Sir E. Stracey’s
Rackheath subsoil plough (see New Series of Brit. Farm. Mag., Nos. 2. and
7.) far exceeds digging, as, by proper management, the soil may be broken 2 ft.
deep at a fourth of the expense of digging. (Brit. Farm. Mag., vol. ii. n. s.

. 145.)
f The Quince is a fruit prized in North America next to the apple; the great
demand for it is for preserving: “ but for drying, to mix with dried apples or
peaches, the quince possesses a value unrivalled by any other fruit; the supe-
rior flavour communicated by them to pies can only be appreciated by those
who have tasted of their excellence when used in that way. (Yankee Farmer,
May 8. 1840.)

Preserving Currants on the Bushes till Christmas. — At Bury Hill, the seat
of Robert Barclay, Esq., they have a way of preserving currants till Christ-
mas, in a high state of preservation. A plantation of red and white currant
trees, occupying a space of about 20 ft. square, is enclosed within a close
paling 6 ft. high ; the trees are trained as espaliers. A strong beam rises
from the centre of the plantation, higher than the paling, from which rafters
diverge in all directions, and rest on the paling, to support a roof of thin white
canvass, which is fastened down all round the paling. Several openings, about
6 in. square, are left at the top of the paling for the admission of air, and are
filled up with mouse-trap wire, to prevent the intrusion of insects. As soon
as the fruit is gathered, the canvass is removed, and the trees exposed to the
elements ; they have stood im this state for four or five years, and have always
borne a good crop.— M. L. Dorking Common, Aug. 29. 1841.

Bromus praténsis and Festuca UYii.— Your account of the Bromus pra-
ténsis, in the very agreeable sketch of your visit to Paris, p. 297., induced me
to beg a friend, who was returning to England, to bring me a couple of pounds
of theseed from M. Vilmorin. Our soil here, as your recollection may suggest
to you, requires an herbage capable of enduring aridity ; and [hope I may find
the Bromus praténsis useful in that respect. Ihave tried some of Dr. Ure’s
fescue grass (Lestca U'ri), and, as far as a trial upon a very small seale can
prognosticate, it bids fair to succeed. — H. L. L. June, 1841.

Asphalte. — 1am an admirer of asphalte, like yourself, and I read your.
extract from Dr. Ure, respecting the possibility of producing it artificially, with
great interest, particularly as we have the two main constituents, sand and
chalk, so near at hand. Another friend of mine, also recently returned from
Paris, has given me a receipt for compounding it, which he met with in a French
work, and I enclose a copy as you might like to see it.

Receipts for preparing Artificial Asphalte. No. 1. Take 18 parts of mineral
pitch and 18 of rosin (this seems requisite to give it the hardening quality), put
them into an iron pot for about twenty minutes over a fire; they will boil, and

Foreign Notices : — Italy. 565
must be kept boiling a little.
and 6 of slacked lime.

No.2. Take 1 part of mineral pitch, 1 part of dry rosin, 7 parts of chalk,
2 parts of sand, and boil them as before —— H. L. L. June, 1841.

Then add 60 parts of sand, 30 of small gravel,

Art. IL. Foreign Notices.

ITALY.

GARDENING. — In my last, dated the 9th of January (see the Magazine for
March 1841, p. 182.), I promised to send you a list of the plants introduced
into Lombardy during the past year (1840). This I am now enabled to do,
through the kindness of Signor Casoretti, the indefatigable director of the
garden of the Villa Traversi, at Desio, who favoured me with the following
catalogue, the greater number of the species in which he himself intro-

duced.

fEschynanthus coccineus.

Alstreeméria Barclayana, Neill tri-
color.

Amphicome arguta.

Andrémeda angista, spec.
Drummond: tetragona.

Anigozanthos coccinea.

Vanda Gomeésii.

Azalea {ndica var. plures, péntica
hyacinthiflora.

Berberis orientalis, spec. nova, Buenos
Ayres.

Byttneria brasiliénsis.

Caméllia j. Aimable d’Ameérique,
Cunninghamia, Perfection, Henry
Favre, Meteor, Nicdéls#, Palmer’s

o ‘ fa 9
perfection, peregrina, Pratt’s seed-
ling, Striped major, Thompsoniana
supérba, Wallichz, Washington,
Weardiz, and many others.

Céreus Hitchinsé# hybridus, Hitchin-
sii specidsus multiplex, oxygonus,
pentalophus.

Chorézema varium.

nova,

MG@lématic florida Sicboldz D. Don,

cerulea Lindl.
Cobece‘a stipularis.
Crinum angustum.
Dacrydium elatum.
Deutzia corymbosa, sanguinea.
Dianthus splendidissimus.
Epimedium violaceum, macranthum.
Epiphyllum rhémbeum.
Eriostémon éuxifolius, cuspidatus.
Erythrina pumila.
Euphorbia meloférmis, spléndens.
Fachsia corymbiflora, formosa, éle-
gans, falgens, grandiflora, péndula,
salicifolia, versicolor.
Gésnera oblénga.
Grevillea Manglési, robusta.
Heematéxylon campechianum.

Hibiscus spléndens.

Hemerocallis Sieboldiana.

Hoteia japonica

Illicium religiosum.

Jasminum, species nova from China.

Leycestéria formosa.

Lilium eximium, japonicum, supér-
bum.

Liriodéndron Tulipifera heterophylla.

Magnolia Hartierens ? rotundifolia ?.

Mahonia fascicularis, glumacea.

Mamamillaria crinita, echinata, glochi-
diata, ténuis.

Mandevillea suaveolens.

Musa Cavendishz, Dacca.

Nelimbium album, thibetianum.

INymphe‘a Lotus, rubra, versicolor.

Opintia glaucophylla, imbricata,
Kleinia.

Peonia tenuifolia fl. pléno.

Penstémon frutéscens, bicolor, genti-
anotdes.

Phiomis Russelliana.

Plumiéria angustifolia.

Potentilla Hopwoodiana.

Pronaya élegans.

Rhododéndron arboreum, ten new
varieties.

Ribes speciosum, ineébrians, musco-
sum.

Salvia patens.

Solandra guttata.

Tweeédia certlea.

Thysanotus elatior.

Tradescantia grandiflora, spléndens.

Verbéna, five new varieties.

Wistaria Backhousidna, floribanda.

Yucca abyssinica, flaccida.

Xanthosia rotundifolia.

Besides a great many more mentioned
in my last letter.

oo 4

566 Foreign Notices : — Italy.

You may see from this that the love of plants is greatly increasing in Lom-
bardy. But I have not told you of the mania in Lombardy for Roses, and
particularly for the numerous varieties of the tea rose, the Bourbon rose,
and the rose perpétuelle ; also for the Viola tricolor, the Auricula, and the
Dahlia. He who possesses the smallest garden must have his dahlias, and
on entering one of these, the first questions are: “ Where are your dahlias ?
Where are yourroses?”’? Signor Casoretti introduces every year a great
variety of the best dahlias, and particularly those registered in the Gardener's
Gazette as having obtained prizes. They cost him annually the sum of 1200
francs ; and to give you an idea of the increasing taste for this plant in Lom-
bardy, it is sufficient to say, that in 1835 they only cost him 200 francs. _.

Signor Casoretti now possesses more than 450 varieties of Camellias. Fif-
teen years ago, a camellia which he had was looked upon as a wonder, and
now eyen in spring you see the balconies of persons of moderate fortunes
decorated by them. Fifteen years ago, a variegated Camélla japénica, about
2ft. in height, cost 15 francs; and now a plant of the same kind and size
may be had for 4 francs. You cannot imagine what a demand there has been
for the last four or five years for the flowers of this plant, during the carnival,
to ornament the heads of the dancers. They are also in great repute at par-
ties in the capital, where they have excluded other flowers, and so much SO,
that the sum of 4 francs is sometimes given for a single flower. My friend
Signor Casoretti showed me the other day, that the annual entry for camel-
lias, fifteen years ago, was about 200 francs; and he calculates that the entry
at present, in consequence of the great importation from France, amounts to
6500 francs.

I must now tell you of a method of multiplying camellias, which has been
in use here since 1830, and which I consider to be a much easier and more
useful way than that hitherto practised by inarching or cuttings, and which
may serve as an answer to the query of an Amateur in the Gardener's Gazette
of the 23d of January of the present year. I take from a strong-growing
camellia some of the roots which are about the thickness of a common
writing quill, and then cut them in pieces, taking care to leave some of the
fibrous roots on each portion, without which it would die. I then take a
small piece of a twig of the variety I wish to propagate, furnished with one
bud, and cleft-graft it on the portion of root. I plant it in a suitable-sized
pot, and then put it in a stove at a temperature of 12° Reaum. (59° Fahr.),
shaded from the sun, and covered with a white bell-glass. In the course of a
few days my grafts begin to vegetate, and I have seen some of them put out
a shoot 6 in. long in the course of a month. A great advantage of this method
of grafting is, that it can be performed at all times of the year (except, how-
ever, at the time when the Caméllia is in full vegetation); and, by only having
one bud of the variety you wish to propagate, you are sure to have a new
plant. It is also more economical, as the stocks on which the camellias are
usually grafted are a foot in height, and cost about a franc apiece. This
method has been practised by me, as well as by my friend above mentioned, and
is, we are convinced, the best in use ; and, when the operation is performed
with care, the Joss cannot amount to more than four in a hundred.

Neither is the art of artificial fecundation at a stand still among us, asI see
this year various camellias raised from seed which Signor Casoretti considers
perfectly beautiful, and two of them form the chief ornament of his valuable col-
lection.* He has called the one Soulangedzaplenissima, andthe other Taverna,

* This is the case, notwithstanding what the Abbé Berlése has stated re-
specting the camellias in the gardens of Milan, in his Monograph on the Genus
Camellia, 2d edit. revised and corrected, pp. 65, 66. You will see that this
author has been mistaken in his information on the subject ; as the C. Nassi-
niana di Lechi, the Sacco di Tagliabue, the Sacco nuova di Sacco, the Barai
di Casoretti, la Duchesse d’Orleans di Sacco, la Traversi di Casoretti (these
have all perfect flowers, and the others have the petals fasciculated (fascicolate)

Foreign Notices : — Africa. 567

in honour of the lady of the excellent Count Lorenzo Taverna, a distinguished
agriculturist and chemist. Two varieties were obtained from Pxonia Moittan
rosea, fecundated with the pollen of P. tenuifdlia, and, last spring, were the
admiration of horticulturists. The flower was equal in size to that of the
parent plant, but fuller ; and one of them of so rich a carmine colour, that it
was impossible to look at it while the rays of the sun were upon it. It is
therefore not inferior to the Vérbéna chamedrifolia supérba in colour.

A few days ago, being in Bergamo, a town in Lombardy, about ten leagues
north-east from Milan, which principally owes its opulence to the trade in silk,
considered the best in Italy, next to that of Piedmont, I went to see the small
garden of the Count Giovanni Batta Maffesi, a man of great learning, and much
respected for his virtues. I saw in his stove Caryota trens, Zamia pingens,
1ft. 3in. in diameter; Z. hérrida, 1 ft. in diameter ; Strelitzia jancea in
flower, lanceolata, and reginz ; also a respectable collection of camellias ;
Araucaria imbricata, 10 ft. high, which, with A. brasiliana, I advised to be
planted in the open air, as the climate is mild and salubrious. I saw the Nan-
dina doméstica growing vigorously, 8 ft. high,in the groves in the open air; also
O.lea fragrans, only 8 ft. high; Magnoléa acuminata, 36 ft. high, and 8 in.
in diameter ; M. grandiflora, and M. giatca ; Callistemon lophanthus, 6 ft. high,
protected in winter by a simple covering of straw, to prevent radiation (a
proof of the mildness of the climate); Ligistrum japdnicum, 18 ft. high, and
10 in. in diameter, the most beautiful specimen I ever saw ; Wistaria flori-
banda and Backhousidna, this is the first time the latter has flowered ; Photinia
serrulata, 10 ft. high, and Gin. in diameter; Stercilia platanifolia, 10 ft. high, and
1 ft. in diameter ; Ahododéndron arbéreum, ponticum, and maximum. — Giu-
seppe Manetti. Monza, Aug. 21. 1841.

AFRICA.

On the Malaria of the Western Coast of Africa.— Although it may, appa-
rently, be a little removed from the general routine of subjects immediately con-
nected with gardening, this subject is of such vital importance, more espe-
cially to the enterprising individuals who risk their lives in the prosecution
of botanical researches, that I cannot refrain from noticing the important
discoveries recently made, for which we are indebted to the zeal and ability of
Professor Daniel, in whose hands the data from which they have been made
were placed by the Board of Admiralty.

Those who have visited the pestiferous shores of Western Africa have long
been aware of the existence of a dismal and sickening stench, which assails the
nerves on entering the deltas of the rivers in that part of the world. Singular
as it may appear, it is only very lately, and incidentally, that the true cause and
consequence of this smell have been discovered. It is proved beyond a doubt,
by the experiments of Mr. Daniel, founded on analysis of the waters which
have been conveyed to England, that it is occasioned by the action of decayed
vegetable matters, which are conveyed in enormous quantities by these rivers

and the flowers globular), the Manetti di Casoretti, the Bellini major di Caso-
retti, la Castioni di Variselis, la Vestalis di Casoretti, la Santiniana di Casoretti,
la Monti di Casoretti, and a hundred others, have all been raised in the garden
at Milan, and by Milanese gardeners. In speaking of this work by the Abbé
Berlése, allow me to call your attention to what he says in p. 51., on raising
the Caméllia from seed, viz.: “Ces graines restent souvent deux ans sans
lever, et quelquefois elles levent des la premiére année.” (“ These seeds often
lie in the ground for two years without vegetating, and sometimes they spring
up the first year.”) Now, with us the Camélla vegetates after having been two
or three months sown (we sow the seed as soon as it is gathered, because,
being of an oily nature, it soon spoils if exposed to the air) ; and those that
remain longer in the ground are imperfect or badly treated, and the plants

produced from such seed are badly grown, and finally perish.

568 Foreign Notices : — Africa.

in the rainy season. These vegetable matters act on the sulphates con-
tained in the sea water, and by their action sulphuretted hydrogen is evolved,
to which in great part, beyond all doubt, the insalubrity of these shores is to be
attributed. The extent of sea over which this fatal cause predominates is
estimated at 40,000 square miles; and it no doubt accounts for the facts
mentioned, but for which no reason was assigned, in the invaluable reports
lately published by government, and in which the dry igneous rocks of parts of
that dreadful coast appear equally fatal to health as the marshy and moist dis-
tricts. It also confirms what I have long been convinced of, that the dread
effects of the mangrove, sleeping under which is always considered to pro-
duce inevitable death, are caused, not by the tree itself or its exhalations, as is
the common belief, but by the local nature of its habitat, which is the saline
estuaries, just where the chemical causes above mentioned are the strongest in
their operation.

Like so many other discoveries, this very important one has been owing to
collateral circumstances. The evolution of the gas, and the impregnation
of the water by it, are most fatal to the copper on. ships’ bottoms; and the
investigation of this comparatively unimportant object of economy appears
to have Jed to the knowledge of the true cause of the enormous loss of life
which has attended all our operations on that coast. There is no question
that the subject ought to be, and will be, followed up ; as it can easily be
done by orders sent to the different foreign stations, to collect the waters
on those coasts which are well known to be the most insalubrious. I may
point to the Mozambique country, on the east coast of Africa, some parts of
which appear to be, by the effects on men and officers employed there, if
possible more fatal to human life than those of the western coast. In the west,
the whole coast of Guiana, from Cayenne and the Oyapoh to the mouth
of the Orinoco, should be examined ; and the Bay of Honduras, as well as
the coast of Vera Cruz, and the opposite coast of Acapulco; and parts of
the sea opposite the rivers of St. Domingo, which, in the rainy season, convey
vast quantities of trees and other vegetable matter to the ocean. There
is no doubt that the same cause operates in many places, in fact, almost every
where, though with less intensity as you approach the arctic circle ; and that
the sea water is every where more or less affected by the influx of quantities of
vegetable matter brought down by the rivers at particular seasons, though hap-
pily in the temperate zone we are comparatively free from its noxious effects.
In the future researches of the learned professor we trust to be informed of the
effect of heat in producing these exhalations; and, as successive observations
give the requisite data, we may find that the same quantity of vegetable
matter, or nearly so, in one latitude may be almost innoxious, whilst in
another it may produce the fatal effects unhappily found in the countries
recently examined.

The antidote recommended to this fatal poison is chlorine, the effect of
which, as is well known, is to completely neutralise the sulphuretted hydrogen;
in the words of the professor, “ they cannot coexist :” and orders have been
given to furnish the expedition lately sent to the rivers of Africa with
an abundant supply of this substance. I hope and trust it may be bene-
ficial, but it is extremely difficult to deal with an entirely infected atmo-
sphere, to which both men and officers must be exposed. It is probable, by
fumigating the lower parts of the vessels in which the men sleep, a great
deal cf good may be done; and that by breathing a comparatively pure atmo-
sphere during the period of repose, the constitution may be better fitted to with-
stand the fatal miasmata whilst exposed to them during the other parts of the
day. To those who have to sleep in marshy districts, where it is possible to effect
it, there is no question that huts should be resorted to and fire kept, as well
as the chlorine fumigation now recommended and furnished by government
to the African expedition ; and that the South American method of sleeping
in hammocks suspended to trees, as high as possible from the ground, should
always, if possible, be adopted.

Foreign Notices : — North America. 569

_it has been stated that the present important discovery applies more espe-
cially to estuaries, and that the theory of it proceeds on the combination of
vegetable matter with the sulphates contained in sea water. According to
this view, the cause ought to diminish as we quit the coast, and advance into
the country. It is on this principle the examination of the interior of Africa
is calculated, and there can be no doubt of the truth of the hypothesis to a
certain extent ; but there are other parts of the world where the case is in-
verted, as I shall probably show in another notice on this important subject.
—W. Sept. 12.

NORTH AMERICA.

American exploring Squadron. — Mr. Nuttal has returned from Washington
city, after arranging forty boxes of plants sent home from the American ex-
ploring squadron, which had been collected at Madeira, Rio de Janeiro, Cape
de Verde Islands, Patagonia, Terra del Fuego, Chili, coast of Peru down to
Callao, the Figee Islands (having made friends with the inhabitants), Navi-
gation group, and coast of New Holland. He says that the plants are pre-
served in the best manner, and will be an immense acquisition to botany.
Many more boxes are expected from the squadron, the result of the industry of
the scientific men on board, and of the officers, who aided zealously the labours
of the botanists. The collection of ornithology is also very great. — J. M. Phi-
ladelphia, Aug. 3. 1841.

Supposed new Cherry.— Some months since I sent you a description of a
new cherry, from the Journal of the late C. S. Rafinesque, and said to have
been brought by Lewis and Clarke from the Organ Mountains ; but upon
comparing it to-day with specimens of European cherries in the valuable
herbarium of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, with
Mr. Nuttall, it would seem to be the Cérasus Mahdleb of the Old World.
I must say, however, that the fruit is not hard, as asserted by Gerard, nor is
there any scent in the wood, fruit, flowers, or leaves, at least to the degree
quoted from him in the Arboretum Britannicum, chap. 42. p. 707. The leaves
of a branch plucked two days since have a slight peach-leaf flavour. There
are two trees of the cherry in Washington Square. — Idem.

Ailantus glanduldsa, — I regret to say that this beautiful tree, which orna-
ments and shades the pavements of this beautiful city, is very subject to
a decline for a season, and to death the next year. Tire morbid cause is to
me inexplicable. One, two, or more, in a row are thus affected, while others
remain in full vigour. The picturesque arrangement of the branches and
leaves, the rapid growth of the tree, and its exemption from insects, render it
a great favourite. Iam very anxious to discover a preventive or remedy
for the disease. Is the tree subject to the same affection in England ? —
Idem.

Machira aurantiaca. — {In addition to the useful purposes to which this tree
is applied and of which it is capable (Vol. VII. p. 508.), I may now mention
that of hedges, for which it is admirably adapted by reason of its very rapid
growth, and the sharp thorns, 1 in. or more in length, placed alternately
along the branches. A branch was recently sent me that grew 5 ft. this season.
If properly trained and trimmed, I think it would answer well, and defend an
enclosure against any animal. An experiment, I am told, is now in progress
near this city, to test its capability for this purpose. — Idem.

_ New Edition of Michaux’s Sylva. — Mr. Nuttal is now engaged in preparing
this work, which is to be published by Mr. Judah Dobson of this city. The

plates of this valuable work were purchased by the late patriotic William Maclure

in Paris, and sent to Harmony, state of Illinois, the seat of Robert Owen’s

famous experiment for reforming mankind. —Jdem.
New Edition of Michaua’s Sylva. — I received a letter from Mr. Nuttall a day

_ er twoago. He is still engaged in preparing his new edition of Michaux’s Sylva

570 Domestic Notices : — England.

for the press. He will add an entire volume of trees that were omitted by
Michaux, with plates equal to those of the original work. Dr. Gray has just
returned from a pretty long journey into the mountains of North Carolina, an
account of which will appear in the next number of Si//iman’s Journal, — John
Torrey. New York, Aug. 9. 1841.

ArT. III. Domestic Notices.

ENGLAND.

THE Greenhouses in the Wakefield Nurserya—In your Magazine for June
1836, No. 85. p. 312., there area perspective view and a short account of a
range of greenhouses belonging to Mr. Barratt, nurseryman, St. John’s, Wake-
field. Having been favoured by the proprietor with an account of the cost of
' these houses while they were erecting, I urged him to send you a sketch,
with the details of the cost, which I was in hopes would have been laid be-
fore the public ; because I know that a great many persons are prevented from
indulging themselves with a very rational luxury, from an indefinite fear of the
expense of a plant-house of the commonest kind; and that others, who re-
quire that elegance should be united with utility in an erection of this kind,
are not aware for how small a sum avery beautiful greenhouse may be built.
Having explained my views to Mr. Barratt, I must do him the justice to say
that he entered most fully into them, and with great readiness furnished me
with all the details, which I shall proceed to give you. The walls of these
houses are built of brick, 9 in. thick ; the roof of the long house is con-
structed in the first instance of iron ribs (2 X 11in.) 3ft.'7in. apart, strengthened
by two horizontal bars (3 in. square) 2 ft. 4.in. apart ; between the first ribs
every 6 in. are fixed deal ribs (4 in. square), which are bent to the proper curve,
and tied to the horizontal bars. Upon these the glass is laid, and thus forms
a complete and entire surface of glass of great strength. The ventilation is
effected by openings in every fourth sash, 1 ft. 41m. deep, and the whole
width of the sash. (See the fig. inp. 313. Vol. XII.) The whole expense of
this long house, 85 ft. long by 10 ft. 6in., was only 170/., that of the dome,
417. You will see that there is a walk 3 ft. wide, with a border for plants on
each side, 85 ft. long, and a square, surmounted by a very handsome dome,
14 ft. 6 in. wide, the whole cost of which is under 220/.; and when it is filled
with Mr. Barratt’s very numerous collection of calceolarias in full bloom, or
with his still more numerous collection of beautiful fuchsias, it not only
leaves at an immense distance the unsightly “ lean-to” houses that nursery-
men usually erect, but far surpasses in real beauty many conservatories that
have cost twenty times the sum. The first half only is at present completed,
as shown in the perspective view. The other halfis now covered with aspan
roof, formed of the lights from Mr. Barratt’s former garden ; and though cer-
tainly not so picturesque a house as the curvilinear one, is still very orna-
mental, and of course less costly. I feel sure that a house on this plan, 18 ft.
long, and 11 ft. wide, might be finished for less than 25/. These papers will
be brought to you by Mr. Barratt himself, who can, and I am sure will
cheerfully supply every information I may have omitted ; and I feel sure you
will agree with me in saying, that he deserves the encouragement of the public
not only for having shown them what may be done in erecting cheap and
elegant greenhouses, instead of the formal and ugly right-lined buildings we
usually see, but also for his just appreciation of the true policy of a trades-
man in the present day, in the exertions he constantly is making to collect
every thing that is worthy of cultivation for its beauty or its rarity, and in
offering it to his customers at a reasonable rate. Indeed, he has already largely
reaped the fruits of this practice, in the extensive business he has carried on

is
sad

Domestic Notices: — England. 571

in many distant countries, as well as in his own neighbourhood. — 7. W.
The Banks, near Barnsley, June 1837.

Bad Effect of growing Peaches and Grapes in the same House. — On my
coming here I found a small vinery for early forcing, a small peach-house also
for early forcing ; a greenhouse, two pine-pits, frames, &c. ; and two houses
about 50 ft. long each, 13 ft. high at the back, and 14 ft. wide; and in each
were trained against the back wall peach and nectarine trees, and also on a
table trellis occupying all the centre of the house (except the walk at
back, and the flue in front), and all the length but the space taken up by the
end flues. Up each rafter in both houses were trained vines ; a practice
which every experienced gardener knows is attended with a great deal of
trouble and anxiety, and generally with very bad success. Bad as the prac-
tice is, I have no doubt but you have often seen it in use; and where there
is but one house for the purpose, some excuse might be made for it, although
it often happens that by trying for too many things in one house, we often
spoil all, or get nothing in perfection; to do which, crops ought to be attended
to in the best possible manner, and all the intruders made subordinate to it.
But here I had two houses applied to the selfsame thing, and the crops in-
juring each other in many instances ; the vines shading the peaches; and by
giving air to accommodate the peaches at the setting and stoning season, the
vines became chilled, and the bunches in a great measure ran away to tendrils,
At the ripening season the peaches had neither colour nor flavour, and what
few grapes did remain were not ripe before the autumnal rains set in, which
caused them to damp and rot.

The rains here are quite different from what you have near London ; falling
at times as fine as vapour, and searching through every lap in the glass, and
every crack and crevice in the sides and roof of plant structures, and at the
same time causing a very great depression in the temperature, often as much
as 20° in a very few hours. I have often seen grapes, by means of these
fine rains penetrating the house, as wet as though they had been dipped in
water.

It is true that, owing to the chilly moist state of the atmosphere, we are
not troubled with many wasps or flies ; and as to earwigs, which are so
abundant in some places, I have not seen one during my stay here. How-
ever, I thought I would separate the peach trees and the vines, so that I
should be able, in a greater degree, to give each its proper treatment. This I
did by converting one house into a vinery, and the other into a peach-house,
in the following manner. I took away the table trellis altogether from the
centre of the houses, and put a cross trellis under every other rafter, previously
taking down the vines from both houses. Then I made good the back wall
of one house with the best of the peach and nectarine trees, and the remainder
of these trees I planted back to back against the cross trellises, just as trained
trees are planted ina nursery. By this means I have a great deal more room
in one house than I had in both before, and the fruit is very much improved
both in colour and flavour, as the one side gets the sun in the morning, the
other in the afternoon, and there is no place shaded all the day. The back
wall is exposed to the full influence of the sun all day, and it ripens the fruit
considerably earlier than the cross trellises, thus prolonging the fruit season
as well as if I had two common houses.

In the other house I bent down the vines which previously occupied the
rafters, and made layers of them on each side of the cross trellises (by which
means I had a crop the first year), and cut them down in the autumn. At
the back wall I planted young vines, which made wonderful growth the first
year, and bore a few bunches the next, which, like the peaches, ripened more
early than those on the cross trellises: both were much improved in flavour,
owing to the full influence of the sun. —J. Nash. Arlington Court, Dorset-
shire, April 26. 1838.

Effects of the Winter of 1837-8.—I do not perceive that you have from our —
quarter here received any return of the killed and wounded in the severe

572 Retrospective Criticism.

battle of last winter, when General Frost so provokingly snatched the laurel
from us, and left the field bestrewed with our dead and dying.

Wounded, Killed.
Bignonias A’rbutus, young plants
Chimonanthus Buddlea
Cypress Cistus ladaniferus
Hydrangeas Daphne Dauphinz, and others
Walnuts Erica mediterranea, and others
Kalmias Jasminum revolutum
Magnolia tripétala, and others Privet, Chinese
Rhododendrons, several sorts Lonicera flexuosa
Rhis Cotinus Mulberry, white
Ribes speciosum Passiflora ceertilea

Robinia viscosa racemosa
Roses, China and Noisette, Banksia, Laurustinus

Macartney, and a few others Cornus capitata
‘Peonia Moutan Alexandrian laurel, though last not
Spartium muitiflorum least, doubtless stolen to deck the
Jasminum, several sorts General’s brow.

Laurels, common and Portugal
Ulex, or Furze, above ground
Evergreen oak.

These are a few of the slaughtered and injured, and I trust their fate will
teach us to be better prepared and fortified against the attack of that or any
other northern power in future. — W. Godsall. Nursery, Hereford, Jan. 17.
1839.

SCOTLAND.

Improvements in Cottage Buildings and Cottage Gardens.— This important
subject will be prominently brought forward at the ensuing meeting of the
Highland and Agricultural Society at Berwick. We are permitted to extract
the following passage from a pamphlet which is now in the press, written by a
gentleman in this neighbourhood, and entitled “ The Peasantry of the Border,
an Appeal in their Behalf.” “ Give them good Cottages, and help them to edu-
cate their Children.”

“ The movement is begun. Cottages are springing up, gardens are bloom-
ing, and schools are being constructed, which attest that many lords of the
manor are anxious that the ‘ cottage homes of England’ should be as much
the abodes of comfort as their own mansion-houses. I have already alluded
to the efforts of the Highland and Agricultural Society ; and,even while 1
have been preparing this appeal for the press, a prospectus has been sent to
me, which contains ‘ The outline of general rules for a Society supplementary
to the Agricultural Society of the county, to promote the improvement of cot-
tages and cottage gardens in Northumberland.’ i

“ T addition to this happy token for good, an announcement has been made,
that many of the leading members of agricultural societies, visitors from a
distance, as well as proprietors from each side of the Border, who are ex-
pected to be present at the meeting at Berwick, to be held Sept. 29. and 30.,
and Oct. 1., are invited to partake of the hospitalities at Etal House on the ~
2d October, in order that attention may be directed to the practical amelior-
ations which have already been effected, and to those which would further
result from an extended association to improve the condition of cottages and —
cottagers.” (Berwick and Kelso Warder, Sept. 18. 1841.) ;

Art. IV. Retrospective Criticism.

RECENT Urine of Sheep. — It is stated in the Suburban Horticulturist, p. 38.5
that the recent urine of sheep does not kill grass, but I can assure you it does ;_—

Retrospective Criticism. 573

and had you been here in the early part of June, I could have shown you
thousands of patches of dead turf, caused by their urine, in a park where no
other animal is allowed to graze. The fact is, that the recent urine of sheep
destroys grass the same as the recent urine of most other animals, more or less,
according to the quantity which is dropped on the grass at once ; but, as the
sheep lets its urine down in small quantities, the damage done is not per-
ceived, except in very dry weather, when the water is absorbed by the soil
on the one hand, and evaporated into the atmosphere on the other, almost im-
mediately, and the salt left, which destroys the grass in patches about the size
of a man’s hand. —John Pearson. Kinlet, near Bewdley, Sept. 30. 1841.

Propagation of the Dahlia. — In answer to the observations of C. O. on the
propagation of the dahlia, I think he has misunderstood my meaning ; it was
not that the buds at the base of the cutting shoot into growth as branches, but
that they grow upwards with the piece of the stem left below the buds, as it
expands and elongates upwards in growth, till the buds are, consequently,
elevated above the crown of the tuber, and are situated on the stem, and not
in the tuber at all. When the cutting is taken off, the shoots are not, gene-
rally, much elongated between the joints, in general about 3 in. or 1 or 2
inches at the utmost ; but as the stem elongates in growth by the expansion and
addition of cellular matter in the summer, the distance between the joints will
be expanded from 2 in. to 1 ft. In paring as near to the buds as we can, we
must not injure the base of the leaves, in the axils of which the buds are
situated, as it is from the bases of these leaves we expect the fibres to issue
which are to form the roots; this necessitates us to leave a space of stem
below the buds, of at least from =4,th to 4th of an inch, which will elongate in
the growing to a good deal more: and as the underground stem, forming the
tubers, proceeds from the root, we cannot see that the buds left are to be
included in the crown of the tuber, they will be formed on the stem above the
tuber. We have frequently been in the habit of cutting the new and rare
sorts down for propagation into single joints; thus we had often five or six single
joints, or eyes, from a rooted cutting sent down to us from London, and we
have always found we could depend more on the pit roots from them in the
spring, than from the old roots. From one to seven buds, neither pairs nor
multiples of pairs (consequently, neither the pairs of basal buds, nor compa-
nions of them), have sprung from them, some of them far down on the tops of
the bend of the tuber, as well as below; while the old roots rotted in the
crown from not being ripened, and were useless. Of what use is it whether
vegetable points are formed at the edges of the medulla, if the tissue is not
sufficiently ripened to form them into buds, and preserve them during the
winter ? The crown of the root is the first to fail, when early frosts and high
cultivation have kept the root from ripening ; and it is, therefore, fair to infer,
that the crown is the last to ripen, and form the points into buds from which
the next year’s shoots are to spring. We pare our cuttings close to the joints,
not for the sake of including the stem buds in the root, but because we expect
the fibres to issue at the joint from the base of the leaves: should the cutting be
cut farther down by mistake, even midway in the space between the joints,
we have generally found that the roots still spring from the joint at the base
of the leaves, and the piece below is.left dormant. It matters, therefore, I
believe, very little whether the cutting is cut close to the joint or below; the
buds.in the axils of the leaves, on the stem of the cutting, will still continue stem-
buds ; and the tuber, whatever part of the cutting the roots proceed from,
will have its own buds formed within the tuber itself, and will not be indebted
to those on the stem of the cutting. For what reason will the tuber from the
cutting, said to be improperly made, be prevented from forming buds in its own
way as all other tubers do? and how does it differ from the new tuber formed
froma piece of the old root with a bud on it? Of what use are the buds
on the stem of the cutting to the new tuber ?—R. L.

Mr. Mackenzie's Mode of cultivating the Gooseberry and Currant (p. 465.),
I have no doubt, answers well with him, as the following mode does in the

574 Queries and Answers.

gardens in which I am now journeyman. Mr. Lindsay, whom you saw when
you called at Raby Castle a few days ago, is noted for his large crops of goose-
berries and currants. He manures the soil well with leaf mould and dung
before planting, and every winter he digs between the rows, and adds more
leaf mould. In pruning the currants he keeps the bushes low by shortening
the young shoots to 2 or 3 inchesinlength. Pruning does not take place till
late in spring, when the leaves are half-expanded, because in this place the
birds are so numerous as to pick off a great many of the buds; therefore we
leave them a full supply, whereas, were we to prune in the autumn, the few
buds left on the shortened shoots would be all carried off—Hdward Hodgson.
Raby Castle Gardens, Sept. 26. 1841.

ArT. V. Queries and Answers.

THE best Plan for managing an old Orchard.— In your Magazine for Septem-
ber, p. 465., I find Mr. Wallace of Dunimarle invites information on the best
plan for renewing an old orchard. He suggests trenching, and letting the top
soil remain two years below to rot the turf, and exposing that dug up to the
weather, then mixing the whole together. This plan, though good, is not
equal to that of adding fresh soil; but, as Mr. Wallace justly observes, that
is expensive ; still it must be borne in mind that, when this is done, there
would be more certainty of success, and no time lost. Two years’ growth of
trees is of much importance.

In all cases of replanting orchards, it is advisable not to plant the same
kind of trees over again. Where pears grew, we should plant apples, &c. It
is almost needless for me to mention that replanting old orchards is of little
use, except something fresh is added to the soil. The better way is to plant
on fresh ground; but in Mr. Wallace’s case this cannot well be done, for the
orchard in question is walled round, and of course it is of great importance
to have it replenished. — J. Wighton. Oct. 1. 1841.

Preventive against the Depredations of Snails on Wall-Fruit.— 1 have this
year had an abundant crop of fine nectarines; but, notwithstanding all my
diligence and care, I have been able to preserve very few of them to perfec-
tion, in consequence of the nightly depredations of snails, of which I have
found and killed many in the morning, which had left traces of their voracity
during the night. My object in addressing you is to ask if any of your cor-
respondents can suggest a preventive of the incursions of the enemy. The
other side of my wall (of course the shady side) is clothed with currant
bushes, which afford a cool shelter by day to the snails, and at night I suspect
they travel over the wall. I have heard that they dislike passing across a
hair clothes-line; but I would prefer to profit by the experience of any who
have succeeded in finding out a remedy, rather than make experiments for
myself, by which I should lose another year, and perhaps sacrifice another
crop. Besides stretching a hair line along the top of the wall, it has occurred
to me that thickly studding the summit with bits of broken glass might offer
an effectual chevaux-defrise. The suggestion of a remedy will much oblige —
An Amateur Gardener. Bristol, Sept. 13. 1841.

We would recommend scattering over the border in front of the trees a few
cabbage leaves greased on the under side, and lifting the leaves every méfning,
and collecting the snails or slugs which may be found under them. If any of
these are so small as to be troublesome to pick up, water them with lime-water,
or water in which potash or soda has been dissolved. By this means snails
and slugs may be completely eradicated from any garden, which is obviously
much better than merely protecting particular plants or crops from them, and
leaving the animals alive. — Cond.

THE

GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,
DECEMBER, 1841.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

Art. 1. A Summary View of the Progress of Gardening, and of
Rural Improvement generally, in Britain, during the Year 1841;
with some Notices relative to the State of both in Foreign Countries.
By the Conpucror.

Tue weather of 1840-41 has been favourable for growth
from its humidity, but very unfavourable for maturation from
the want of sun. Fruits in general, and even culinary vegetables,
have been deficient in flavour, and flowers in brilliancy of colour.
The shoots of most kinds of trees have been imperfectly ripened ;
and, in short, the only circumstance in the season favourable to
horticulture is the comparative absence of insects, to which the
continued cold and moisture of the atmosphere have been in-
jurious.

“The month of November, 1840, maintained nearly an
average temperature, but was unusually damp, more than
34 in. of rain having fallen during the first three weeks; and,
although there was none in the last week, yet dense fogs pre-
vailed, to the almost total exclusion of the sun’s rays. Decem-
ber, on the contrary, was a dry but very cold month; in fact,
the coldest December experienced in at least the present cen-
tury. The mean temperature, instead of about 40°, its usual
average, was only 32°. January, 1841, was also colder than the
average; and on the 7th and 8th the thermometer was 26°
below freezing, or within 6° of zero. February was also cold
throughout; but, with the exception of that on the 3d, there
were no frosts of intense severity. March was exceedingly
fine; and vegetation, almost dormant at the commencement,
made a considerable advance by the end of the month; so much
so, that the horsechestnut was in leaf the first week in April, —
and the common hawthorn in the second, indicating an earlier
vegetation than has taken place since 1834: and this is attri-
butable to the warm sunny weather in March; for April was
by no means favourable, sharp frosts being of frequent oc-
currence during the first three weeks. ‘These considerably

1841.—XII. 3d Ser. ip ie

576 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening. }

injured the blossoms of fruit trees. May was genial; but in
June and July the temperature fell considerably below the
average; and vegetation, so far as regards the growth of fruits,
lingered much in these months. ‘The increase of foliage was,
however, favoured by the abundance of rain; as was, also, the
growth of kitchen-garden productions. August was still rather
wet, but maintained a medium temperature. September was
warmer than usual; and, during the first three weeks, a prin-
cipal , rtion of the grain crops was secured, but in the end of
the month a large quantity of rain fell. Wet weather was the
almost constant characteristic of October, there being only four
wholly dry days throughout the month, with an amount of rain
equal to double the average. Most soils, both in the garden
and in the field, were rendered unfit for working; and it was
not before the end of the first week in November, that such
operations as required the stirring of the soil could be ad-
vantageously proceeded with. In this autumn there has hitherto
been very little frost; for, with a few unimportant exceptions,
its only occurrence was on the night of the 21st of October. It
was then sufficiently severe to destroy the beauty of the dahlias,
and arrest the vegetation of similarly tender exotics. Vines on
walls have not ripened their fruit; perhaps in no season has it
attained a less degree of maturity. They were excited early
enough, and they came into leaf sooner than in many seasons in
which they have ripened tolerably well. The defect has doubt-
less been occasioned by the falling off in the temperature during
the months of June and July; for, at the end of that period, the
fruit was not sufficiently advanced to be perfected by the most
favourable state of the weather that ever occurs in this climate
after the time above mentioned. ‘The deficiency of heat in the
two months alluded to amounted to only 3° or 4° of mean tem-
perature; yet the effects have been such, that the circumstance
may be usefully borne in mind by those who have artificial heat
at command, in order that they may avoid the consequences
resulting from a temperature too low, and not progressively
increasing.’— N. Nov. 15.

History and Statistics. — Some notices of gardens in the
neighbourhood of Paris, and of a few in England, and some
notes on the progress of gardening in the United States, com-
prise the principal part of the information belonging to this
department of the subject, as far as respects this Magazine; but
iin the Gardener’s Gazette and the Gardener’s Chronicle will be
found a number of notices of gardens, public and private, in
different parts of the country. Such notices are not only valu-
able as records of the state of gardening at the time, but
interesting and instructive as containing hints for imitation, or
examples to be avoided, or as affording stimuli to exertion.

and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1841. 577

Every gardener ought to visit as many gardens as he can; and
the next best thing to visiting gardens is, to read faithful
descriptions of them by others.

The Horticultural Societies, both metropolitan and provincial,
continue to flourish, and to increase in usefulness. New rules
for the exhibitions of the London Horticultural Society have
been adopted (Gard. Chron. for 1841, p. 595.); and a new
Metropolitan Florists’ Society has been organised. (Gard. Gaz.
for 1841, p. 101.) The Provincial Societies appear to have
been paying increased attention to the subject of cottage
gardens, and their efforts have been attended with the desired
success. The Highland Society of Scotland is also directing
its attention to this important subject, and offering prizes for
the best kept cottage and garden. The Reigate Horticultural
Society; the Horticultural Society of Swansea and Neath; the
Horticultural Society of the North Riding of Yorkshire, under
the patronage of Lord Tyrconnel; that of Buckingham, under
the patronage of the Duke of Buckingham; and the Glasgow,
Strling, and Falkirk Societies, have been particularly active
and successful in adding to the comfort and rational enjoyment
of the cottager. The transactions of the Provincial Horticultural
Societies have been given so regularly and copiously in the
Gardener’s Chronicle, that we have not deemed it necessary to
continue our annual abridged notices; and we therefore refer
for details to that journal and to the Gardener’s Gazette.

Science of Vegetable Culture. — The periodicals of the past
year have been rich in discussions on this subject. At the head
of these, in this Magazine, stand Mr. Lymburn’s observations
on Liebig’s Organie Chemistry (p.97.). An analysis of the
same work is given in the Gardener’s Chronicle, one in the Quar-
terly Journal of Agriculture, and one in the English Journal of
Agriculture. Dr. Daubeny’s Three Lectures on Agriculture (p.
270.), and Mr. Lymburn’s Philosophy of Manures (p. 335. and
408.), belong to the same subject; and we refer to our table of
contents, and to the indexes of the gardening newspapers, for
other publications and papers of the same kind. ‘The chemistry
of horticulture and agriculture is fortunately at present exciting
much attention; and both the Horticultural Society and the
English Agricultural Society have commenced, or are about to
commence, a series of experiments on the subject, the result of
which can hardly fail to be of immense importance both in a
scientific and practical point of view. ‘The Duke of Devonshire
has liberally contributed the sum of fifty pounds a year, and a
few friends of science have also subscribed, towards the expenses
of ‘ an enquiry into the Chemistry of Horticulture, more espe-
cially, with reference to the influence of soil and manures upon
garden plants.” This has enabled the Council to nominate a

PoP

578 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening,

Committee, which is to determine upon the nature of the ex-
periments to be undertaken, and to report from time to time
the result of their investigations. ‘The duty of conducting the
experiments has been intrusted to Mr. Edward Solly, jun.,
“already so favourably known for the skill with which he ma-
naged the chemical examination of the substances submitted to
him by the Committee of Agriculture of the Asiatic Society.”
(Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 379.)

Experimental Culture.— 'The application of powdered char-
coal to the growth of plants, and more especially to the striking
of cuttings (p. 221.), and the experiment of sowing seeds in snow
(p. 302.), have been attended with some interesting results.
Cuttings and leaves have been rooted in charcoal, that gardeners
had never been able to root in sand; and seeds have germinated
in snow, which come up with difficulty when sown in soil alone.
It appears to have been the German practice for many years to
sow the seeds of the auricula in snow, which is not unnatural,
considering the native habitation of this plant: but we should
not have anticipated the success which has attended sowing in
snow the seeds of Cape and New Holland plants; nor has this
success been yet satisfactorily accounted for on scientific prin-
ciples.

Implements, Utensils, &c.— A draw-hoe in use in Leicester-
shire (p. 311.) is an implement which we can very strongly
recommend, believing it to be better adapted for thinning out
seedling crops than any other tool of the kind. ‘The Guernsey
weeding-prong (fp. 630.) will save weeders from stooping, and lessen
the necessity of using the fingers. A substitute for hand-glasses
by Mr. Forsyth (p. 204.) promises to be economical, where gentle-
men cut down their own timber; and a glazed flower-pot, recom-
mended by the same intelligent gardener (Gard. Chron., vol. i.
p. 499.), and which is manufactured by Mr. Lege of the Furnace
Lane End, Staffordshire, and of superior materials for drawing-
rooms by Messrs. Spode and Garrat, London, deserves a trial.
These pots are recommended by Mr. Forsyth, as requiring less
labour in cleaning from their glazed surface outside, and because,
their bottoms being pierced full of holes, no crocks are wanted ; as
lasting longer, on account of the strength given to the material
by the glazing, and as being handsomer in shape. Should these
pots be attended with all the advantages that Mr. Forsyth anti-
cipates, the saving of labour, and the improvement in point of
_ shape and colour, will doubtless soon bring them into general use.
_ Garden Architecture. — A great deal of discussion has taken
place on this subject during the past year; and it is but candid
in us to state that Mr. Penn’s mode of heating has been shown
not to deserve the high eulogiums which we, in common with
Mr. Marnock in the Moricultural Magazine, Mr. Wilmot the

and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1841. 579

market-gardener, and other gardeners and amateurs, passed on
it at the time that it first attracted attention. ‘The two chief
objections to it are, that it is not so economical in point of con-
sumption of fuel as the best ordinary modes, and that it is less
certain in regard to atmospheric moisture. While we concede
these points, we are far from agreeing in all that has been said
against the system; and we should certainly employ it under
particular circumstances, such as in a conservatory or green-
house attached to a house, or in a low wide pit, to circulate the
air from the back to the front. We wish, however, to consider
the merits of Mr. Penn’s system rather as under trial than as
finally settled; and to be determined at some future time, when
the present excitement respecting it is somewhat allayed, and
when those who write on it shall have the truth for their object,
and not that of merely its condemnation or defence. The most
rational and unimpassioned discussion which we have seen on
the subject is contained in some very excellent articles in the
Gardeners Chronicle, by Alfred Ainger, Esq., in favour of
radiant heat. ‘The essence of all of these articles will be found
in our General Notices (p. 634.), but the papers themselves well
merit the attentive perusal of the scientific gardener.

Mr. Corbett’s mode of heating, by the circulation of hot water
in open gutters, appears to be generally approved of, more es-
pecially for houses or pits of limited extent, and where all the
pipes can be laid on levels. The conducting of the heating
pipes through troughs of water (p. 635.) seems also to be much
liked. A mode of ventilation, by the introduction of fresh air heated
by passing it through hot-water pipes, described by Mr. Green
(p. 637.), promises well, and we shall be glad to hear more respect-
ing it. A similar mode of introducing fresh air to the conservatory
in the Chelsea Botanic Garden was tried by Mr. Watts in
Evelyn’s time, the pipes being passed through the furnace;
but in this case, and also in that of heating by fresh air in Mr.
Sylvester’s mode, it has been found that the current of heated
air when once established is continued after the fire becomes
low, till at last cold air instead of heated air is admitted into the
house. In the case of admitting heated air through hot-water
pipes, as the temperature will probably be lower, the influx of
air from without will not be so rapid, and, consequently, it will
be more likely to stop at the proper point. Mr. Green informs
us, however, that the current of air does continue after the five
gets low or goes out; and that he, therefore, considers 1t most —
advisable to have the ventilation tubes open only when the wate!
is sufficiently heated to warm the air which passes through it; oi
when the external air is mild enough not to require much _ heat-
ing. Mr. Green considers that this mode of ventilation will be
of the greatest service in forcing-houses and in stoves.

PP 9

580 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening,

A fruit-room is one of those garden structures which have not
hitherto been brought to that degree of perfection of which they
are susceptible, with very little increased expense. ‘The scien-
tific principles on which they ought to be constructed are laid
down in the Gardener’s Chronicle, as well as the application of
these principles, and we have given the essence of both (p. 635.).
As connected with this subject, it may be observed, that an
admirable mode for packing fruit has been published in the
Gardener’s Chronicle, and which we have quoted (p. 647.). This
article is by Mr. Ross, a mathematical instrument-maker, and is
one of the many instances of the advantages that may be gained
by bringing other arts to bear on the art of gardening.

Landscape-Gardening.—In the Gardener’s Gazette of the past
year, while the Horticultural Department of that paper was under
our management, we gave a translation of the more important
parts of Puckler Muskau’s work on this subject, and of the whole of
the treatise of M. Viart, entitled Le Jardinist ; and in this Maga-
zine we have made considerable progress with the landscape-
gardening of Sckell. The latter is by far the most eminent
name, as a landscape-gardener, which Germany affords, whether
as a practical man in laying out grounds, or as an author. ‘There
is little in any of the works mentioned that can be of direct ap-
plication in Britain; but, by knowing the systems of other authors
and other countries, the British gardener will be the better
enabled to generalise on this department of his art.

In the course of a tour in Scotland and the North of
England, the details of which wil! be found in our ensuing
volume, we could not help remarking, in the grounds of country
residences, the general want, not of high keeping, for that we
did not expect, but of what we shall call appropriate keeping.
Thus, suppose two shrubberies, one old and abounding in large
shrubs and trees, and the other comparatively new and con-
taining only young trees and shrubs, with roses and herbaceous
flowers: the mode of keeping both these shrubberies is ge-
nerally the same; that is, the ground is dug in the winter season,
and kept hoed and raked during summer. Now, this may be
very suitable for the young shrubbery, in which there is still
abundance of room and of light and air to admit of roses and
herbaceous plants flowering freely; but in old shrubberies, where
these plants are so far choked as to be in a sickly unhealthy
state, digging the few portions of surface that remain uncovered
with branches can be of no use to either the large shrubs or
the stifled low plants. It ought, therefore, to be discontinued ;
all the low and unthriving plants removed; and the surface of
the bays and recesses, which will occur along the front, turfed
over, or sown down with proper grass seeds, and afterwards kept
mown. It ought, we think, to be received as a general rule in the

and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1841. §81

management of shrubberies, that no detached plant that is not
in vigorous growth or in a healthy state, and in a situation and
soil where it may continue healthy, ought to be allowed to exist.
A shrubbery where this is attended to is managed in what we
call the gardenesque manner, the essence of which is to have no
plants, either large or small, that are not handsome as individuals;
but there is also the picturesque manner of managing shrubberies
and plantations, the essence of which consists in having no plant
that does not group or combine with some other plant or plants.
Hence, in sucha shrubbery, there may be some plants that, when
taken individually, would be considered unsightly from having
grown all to one side, or being drawn up with few side branches,
or having only side branches and no leading shoot; but, when
two or more of such plants are grouped together, they form a
combination, or whole, which is as interesting to the lover of the
picturesque, as the handsome single object is to the lover of the
gardenesque. When, therefore, imperfectly shaped plants are
permitted to exist in a shrubbery, they should always be in com-
bination with other plants, and never allowed to stand alone.

When a shrubbery is once planted, many persons think that
all that is necessary is to give it the routine culture of digging,
hoeing, and raking, with perhaps occasional pruning; but, to
keep a shrubbery in high order, it requires to be gone over
every year in autumn, in order to thin out superfluous plants,
and prune where it is necessary to keep certain plants with-
in bounds; and it ought also to be frequently looked over
during the summer months, to cut off all decayed flowers from
the more rare or valuable shrubs, such as roses, rhododendrons,
azaleas, tree pzeonies, &c., which, if left on the plant to produce
seed, would weaken it for the next blossoming season, by appro-
priating to the fruit the nutriment which would otherwise be
devoted to the formation of blossom buds. In some cases,
however, it is desirable not to take off the decaying blossoms,
on account of the beauty of the fruit, as in all the thorns, crabs,
berberries, Rhis, Arbutus, spindle tree, and even the mezereon
and honeysuckle.

Whenever the plants in a recently planted shrubbery become
so large as to injure the growth of the roses and flowers that
are generally planted on the outer margin next the walk, the
roses, &c., ought to be removed; and when these are all taken
away, digging, being no longer necessary, ought to be discon-
tinued. The surface of the shrubbery will then be chiefly
covered with the branches of the shrubs; and such bays, re-
cesses, and retiring glades as remain uncovered, which constitute.
one of the beauties of a shrubbery, should, as we have al-
ready observed, be turfed over or sown down. In some cases,

the surface may be covered with ivy or with periwinkle, and in
ep 4

582 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening,

shady moist situations it may be left naked, in order to encourage
the formation of a carpet of moss. In short, for a grown up
shrubbery, any mode is better than a surface kept in a continual
state of movement by digging, hoeing, and raking; a conti-
nuation of the means long after the end has been attained, and
which, to those who think at all on the subject, can only give the
unsatisfactory idea of labour misapplied.

It may be said, that in some cases this winter digging is so
far useful that it covers in the fallen leaves, and that these serve
as an annual manuring to the plants. Granted: but, where this
annual manuring is necessary, we would not admit of the digging,
but would rot the leaves in heaps in the back part of the shrub-
bery, and strew the mould thus produced over the surface. We
contend, however, that most shrubberies, after they have attained
a certain age, require to be starved rather than nourished, in
order to keep the shrubs within bounds; and, at all events, that
the leaves which drop on the ground, and lie concealed by the
branches, generally afford nourishment enough to the plants.
In shrubberies where there is a mixture of trees, and the trees and
shrubs are continued along both sides of the walk, it frequently
happens, after a certain number of years’ growth, that the walk is
completely covered, at the height of 10 or 12 ft. from the ground,
by the spreading branches of the trees. Such a shrubbery can
only be managed in the picturesque manner, and we should,
therefore, have no hesitation in covering the ground with ivy or
periwinkle, and allowing the leaves from the trees and shrubs
to rot where they fell, partially concealed, as they would be, by
the creeping or trailing evergreens.

One of the worst points in the management of close shrub-
beries or plantations of this kind is, the treatment which the
verge or edging generally receives. If it was originally an edg-
ing of box, it soon, from the dense shade, and from the
neglect of filling up the gaps occasioned by death or ac-
cident, shows a ragged starved line of that plant; or if it
has been a verge of turf, perhaps 2 feet wide, it becomes
reduced, by continued paring on both sides, to a strip of soil of
6 in. in width, with scarcely any appearance of grass. The
native oxalis has been proposed as a substitute by Mr. Mackenzie
of West Plean (p. 645.), and we have no doubt that plant would
answer in many cases; but, if the surface of the plantation were
covered with ivy or periwinkle, an evergreen clothing would be
formed, which it would only be necessary to keep within bounds
by the verge-shears.

The keeping of a place may be defective from a want of con-
sistency, as well as from inappropriateness. By consistent, or,
in other words, by uniform keeping, we mean that keeping in
which every part of a place has a degree of care and labour

and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1841. 583

bestowed upon it according to its rank and importance. The
centre of all art and refinement, in the grounds of a country
seat, ought, in general, to be on the drawingroom front of the
house: next in order is the pleasnre-ground; then the flower-
garden, which forms a part of the pleasure-ground; then the
shrubberies or plantations near the house, in which there are
kept walks, which also belong to the pleasure-ground; next the
approach-road ; and, lastly, the kitchen-garden. It not unfre-
quently happens that the lawn in front of the house is compa-
ratively neglected, while the highest-kept part of the place is the
kitchen-garden; and we also often find both the lawn and the
kitchen-garden highly kept, while no more attention is paid to
the sides of the approach-road than if it were a common road
through a grass field. In every highly kept place, where the
approach-road leads through open scenery with pasture on
each side, the coarse tufts of grass, withered flower-stalks,
and all coarse plants, ought to be mown off for a few yards
on each side of the road, two or three times during the
summer; and the edgings should, of course, be kept low and
clipped with the verge-shears, instead of being pared with the
spade. As a kept walk is a highly artificial part of landscape
scenery, it may be laid down as a rule, that whatever description
of scene it passes through ought to partake, more or less, of the
character of art. Even when the walk is carried across a grass
field, or a part of the open park, the surface ought to be
smoothed, and the grass kept free from tufts or flower-stems, for
a few yards on each side; and something of the same kind ought
to take place when it passes through woods or plantations, unless
the surface is covered with ivy or other evergreens. In short, in
even the wildest scenery, when the walk is carefully formed by
art, of uniform width, and gravelled, the same art ought to
extend its influence to a certain distance on both sides, whether
among grass or plants, and ought to be particularly conspicuous
on its edges.

Though we have placed the kitchen-garden last in the order
of importance with respect to high keeping, it does not follow
that it is not to be kept in a suitable manner. Order and
neatness ought to pervade every part of it; and, indeed, it can
hardly be properly managed, with a view to utility, without this —
being the case.

Arboriculture. — Some valuable papers on pruning have ap-
peared in the course of the year, among which those by Mr.
Cree of Biggar deserve particular attention.

“We do hope that, though Mr. Cree has been comparatively neglected by
his countrymen, some spirited English proprietors of plantations will take his
system into consideration, and either send their foresters to Mr. Cree for in-
struction, or send for Mr. Cree to instruct their foresters, and to prune some

584 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening

trees as examples. Mr. Cree’s principal employment is as a professional pruner,
and he goes out at the very low terms of half-a-guinea a day, and his travelling
expenses. (Gard. Gaz. for 1841, p. 500.)

An economical mode of procuring single trees has been
pointed out in this Magazine (p. 509.), and enlarged on in the
Gardener’s Gazette for Oct. 23.; and, in a subsequent number of
the same Journal (Oct. 30.), we have shown the advantage,
when large masses are to be planted, of preparing the soil by
the use of a four-horse plough, followed by the subsoil plough.
The advantage of heading down stunted single trees of consider-
able size, and of cutting over by the ground young trees that
stole after they have been three or four years planted ; of using the
pruning-shears much more extensively than has hitherto been
done by foresters; and of cleaning hedges early in the season,
before the side shoots have been protruded from the lower part
of the hedge, have been pointed out and enlarged on in leading
articles in the Gardener’s Gazette, not as new practices, but as
practices which deserve to be more generally resorted to.

We were happy to see, during our tour, considerable progress
made in different places towards planting collections of trees
and shrubs, or, as they are technically called, arboretums. We
may refer to Corehouse near Lanark, Posso near Peebles,
Dalkeith Park, Hopeton House, and some other places about
Edinburgh, Ravensworth in Durham, and Moreby Hall
and Bramham Hall in Yorkshire. Pinetums are also being
commenced in various places. In furtherance of one object to
be obtained by collections, that of creating an interest in trees
and shrubs by attaching the names to them, which may serve
as indexes to their history in books, we are happy in being able
to state that permanent labels of iron and lead, or of lead alone,
are prepared by Messrs. Lucombe and Co. of Exeter, and Messrs.
Whitley and Osborn of Fulham, and sent out along with the
plants when desired, at very moderate prices. ‘The lead labels
of the smallest size are 2 in. by 4in., with the name and the
native country stamped on them with steel types, in such a manner
that they cannot be obliterated for many years, and they cost
only 12s. per hundred. ‘These labels have holes at the angles
by which they may be nailed to larch or other stakes, 3 ft. in
length, with the bark on; or they may be of larger size, and
attached to such shanks as we have figured in p. 230.: lead
labels of the size proper for these shanks will cost 2d. each.
We would strongly recommend gardeners and their employers
to have named by these, or by some other equally durable means,
all the trees and shrubs which are not universally known among
gardeners ; and also all the fruit trees, vines, and even one plant
of each of the more rare kind of ananas. In the case of wall
trees and espaliers, and also of vines, the label can be nailed

and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1841. 585

to the wall, espalier post, or rail, and to the rafter or trellis. The
mere circumstance of having the plants and fruit trees about a
place correctly named raises its character among gardeners, and
insures a better class both of master gardeners and their assistants.
It is also favourable to correctness and good habits generally.
A gardener, where there is a good collection of named articles,
not only commands apprentices of a superior school education,
but cuttings of many rare plants, which he would not receive if
he had not something adequate to give in return. Besides, it
generally happens that some members of the family of the pro-
prietor have a taste for botanical pursuits, and to them the
circumstance of the plants in the garden and pleasure-ground
being correctly named must be a very considerable assistance in
their studies.

A few new trees and shrubs have been raised in the Horticul-
tural Society’s Garden, of which a catalogue is given by Mr.
Gordon (p.608.); and, what it will be of immediate practical utility
to state, Messrs. Whitley and Osborn have added upwards of
30 species and varieties to their printed catalogue of last year.
We have obtained a list of between twenty and thirty new or rare
species recently introduced into the Tooting Nursery by Messrs.
Rollison, which will be given in our next Number; and, with
Mr. Gordon (p. 35.), we would strongly recommend nursery-
men and the curators of botanic gardens, in every part of the
country, to send us Annual Reports of the new or rare articles
which they have raised from seed, or otherwise added to their
collections. We conceive that the public is under great obliga-
tion to every nurseryman who maintains a good collection and
increases it; for, assuredly, rare trees and shrubs, which are only
sold now and then, do not pay him nearly so well as the cultivation
in large quantities of the common sorts.

Various articles on the preservation of timber will be found
in the present volume, though we can scarcely as yet point to
any practical results which a gardener can imitate. Nothing can
be more beautiful in theory than the experiments of Dr.
Boucherie (p. 642.); and some of them, at least, might be
repeated by a gardener or forester, with a very little assistance
from a chemist. Sir W. Burnett’s mode every gardener might
put to the test, by trying it on bast mats.

Floriculture. —Our Floricultural Notices exhibit, as usual, the
names of a great. many new plants which have been figured
in the course of the year, and the whole are assembled in a
select list which forms part of the Contents. ‘There is a va-
luable list of plants adapted for a conservatory wall, with several
instructive papers on the management of the Cacti, one of
considerable commercial importance on the cultivation of Jrideze
in the Island of Jersey, and some interesting articles on the Dahlza;

586 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening,

and, under General Notices, there are a great variety of articles
on this department, which can hardly fail to instruct, and which,
at all events, will be read with pleasure by every lover of garden-
ing, on account of the associations which they will call up in his
mind.

Horticulture. — There are so many interesting papers on this
subject in the present volume, that we cannot spare room to par-
ticularise them. Perhaps the most valuable articles are those on
the cultivation of the grape, the shriveling of the fruit in va-
rious places having called forth the energies of several cultivators.
Root-pruning, to which Mr. Rivers (p. 625.) has lately directed
public attention, is a practice capable of being much more ge-
nerally applied than has hitherto been done; not that gardeners
are ignorant of it, for it was long since recommended from the
Caledonian Hort. Soc. Mem. in the first edition of our Encyclo-
pedia of Gardening, but that pruned roots, being unseen, do not
make that impression on a stranger visiting a garden where it
has been practised which top-pruning does. ‘The subject of in-
sects on fruit trees has, as usual, occupied a good deal of the at-
tention of cultivators; and that of the diseases to which wheat and
other grains are liable has given rise to some valuable papers, by
Professor Henslow, in the Zinglish Agricultural Journal.

A few new varieties of fruits and culinary vegetables have been
brought into notice, and are given in a Report by Mr. Thompson,
accompanied by some judicious remarks. The fruit of Bérberis
dilcis, commonly known in the nurseries as Bérberzs rotundifolia,
has been ripened in Mr. Cunningham’s nursery, Edinburgh, and
found excellent; Mr. Cunningham says, ‘as large and as good
as a black Hamburgh grape ;” and, if so, we have no doubt that it
will soon come into cultivation as a fruit shrub. Mr. Herbert
has found the berries of Fachsza fulgens, not only eatable, but
excellent (p. 648.) ; and the same remark will apply to the roots
of O’xalis Déppez (p.648.). Some Chinese vegetables have
recently been tried by the French, but sufficient experience has
not yet been obtained to enable us to determine their merits. In
the Report of the progress of the Horticultural Society from
1830 to 1840, published in their Transactions, second series,
vol. ii. p.428., will be found a List of Fruits and Culinary Vege-
tables which have been examined during that period, and
found deserving of general cultivation. ‘This List will be given
in our ensuing volume.

Agriculture.— The progress which this art is now making is
rapid, both in England and Scotland, chiefly by the adoption of
the frequent or furrow drain system and subsoil plough. These
are both the invention of Mr. Smith of Deanston, to whom the
landed proprietors of Britain, and more especially of Scotland,
are under a debt which they can scarcely ever repay. In the

and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1841. 587

course of our tour we had an opportunity of seeing the frequent-
drain system in every stage of its progress, and found that in
many parts of Scotland rents had been trebled and quadrupled
by it. In Northumberland and Durham we found Mr. Smith’s
system frequently adopted, and between York and London it
may occasionally be seen in progress. A farmer in the neigh-
bourhood of Dalkeith has recently made a considerable im-
provement in the manufacture of draining tiles, which will extend
the practice by rendering it less expensive. The use of these
tiles pierced with holes is about as great an improvement on
the mode of draining by small stones formerly practised, as Mr.
Forsyth’s mode of piercing the bottom of flower-pots promises
to be on the use of crocks or other rough drainage. The tiles,
however, are found to require small stones or gravel laid over
them, and so, probably, in many cases, will the pierced bottoms of
Mr. Forsyth’s flower-pots, if it were for nothing more than the pur-
pose of admitting air to the roots. A new species of clover, Trifd-
lium giganteum, has been introduced from Affghanistan, and a new
variety of lucern from Candahar. ‘The latter is chiefly valuable
as coming in earlier than the common species ; but the clover
appears to be a valuable acquisition, having in Ireland yielded at
the rate of 37 tons per acre cut green. (Gard. Chron., vol. i.
p- 631.) At the last meeting of the Highland and Agricultural
Society of Scotland, held at Berwick, promises were given of an
increased attention by that Society to the subject of cottages and
general education (p. 572.), with which we were much gratified.
The meetings of the English Agricultural Society, and their
very excellent Journal, are silently effecting great and important
changes in field culture and live stock. ‘The principal subjects
which occupy the attention of gentlemen farmers in both coun-
tries are, the important ones of draining, subsoil-ploughing,
and saline and concentrated manures; although it may be men-
tioned as somewhat remarkable, that the first two practices have
been carried too far in light sandy soils in some parts of England.
Rural Architecture. —'The public taste in architecture is
gradually becoming more refined, more especially in the country,
by the many churches and villas that are being erected or
repaired, and by the very handsome station-houses which
frequently meet the eye while gliding along the railroads,
both in England and Scotland. Landed proprietors, however,
do not seem fully alive to the high degree of ornament which
they might confer on their estates, by giving their cottages and
farm buildings a more artistical character.* There are now

* Tt will scarcely be credited, for how small a sum a plain homely design
for a labourer’s cottage, that does not exhibit exteriorly even a germ of
architectural taste, may be rendered highly architectural. Suppose the erec-
tion of a cottage of the most homely description to cost, tor labour and

588 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening,

so many cheap books containing designs for cottages, that this
neglect seems almost inexcusable. Nearly all country gentlemen
retain a carpenter for repairs, and for work to be done under
their own inspection, and it would be for their interest to put
into the hands of such persons books of designs which might
tend to cultivate their taste. It is much to be wished, also, that
ladies would take a greater interest in the picturesque beauty
and comfort of the cottages erected by their friends; and, in
short, that they would bestow a portion of their time on the
study of architecture.

There is one department of rustic architecture to which we
would earnestly invite the attention of country gentlemen, the
ladies of their families, and also their gardeners and stewards,
and that is, the erection of rustic structures formed of the thin-
nings of plantations with the bark on. We are far from recom-
mending the imitation of those grotesque seats and summer-
houses, formed of peeled oak branches, so commonly exhibited
for sale in the neighbourhood of London, because the different
parts of these structures are put together without any evidence
of cultivated design. The materials that we recommend are poles
or young trees, of from 6 in. to 9 in. in diameter at the thickest
end, of Scotch pines, larches, spruce firs, oaks, alders, and a few
others which grow straight, and in every case we prefer them
with the bark kept on. These can be formed into a great variety
of structures, useful and ornamental, at very little expense be-
yond that of the labour of the carpenter. By these poles the
most common-place exteriors of cottages may be rendered
picturesque ; every variety of covered seat in pleasure-grounds ;

materials, 60/.; then, to render it artistical, it may be submitted to an archi-
tect, say in London or Edinburgh, who, for indicating certain changes and
additions, may charge two guineas ; and those additions, when executed, may
cost 47, or 5/, Thus, it may be calculated, that to render a homely country
cottage of any kind artistical, and an ornament to the country, will, all
expenses included, not exceed 10 or 12 per cent.

On reading to Mr. Lamb what we have written, he says that the-architect,
in the case of improving cottages of the lowest description, ought not to
charge more than a guinea for altering a design ; and that the improvements,
when carried into execution, need very seldom exceed 5 per cent on what
would otherwise be the cost, It is not so much, Mr. Lamb observes, decora-
tion which is wanted, as an artistical distribution of materials. Those who
haye looked into our Encyclopedia of Cottage Architecture, or the Archi-
tectural Magazine, will recollect Mr. Lamb’s beautiful designs for cot-
tages and villas in the former work, and his interesting historical papers
on Gothic architecture in the Magazine; and when we mention that he has
been one of our travelling companions in Scotland and the North of England
for the last two months, and has been as far north as Taymouth, as far west
as Stranraer, and as far south as Newcastle, it will be allowed, we think, that
he is competent to give an opinion on the improvement of both Scotch and
English labourers’ cottages. (Gard. Gaz. for 1841, p. 596.)

and of Rural Improvement generally, during 1841. 589

of sheds for the shelter of cattle, pigeon-houses, &c., in parks;
of fruit-rooms, tool-houses, working-sheds, mushroom-houses,
houses like that of Mr. Wells of Redleaf, for preserving leaf-
less deciduous shrubs, such as fuchsias, brugmansias, &c., and
even orange trees, through the winter, in gardens; of poultry-
houses, dairies, &c., in farms; and of woodmen’s lodges, places
for shelter, &c., along drives, &c., in woods. Besides these
objects, there are gates, fences, bridges, arcades, and picturesque
combinations of poles for creepers, espaliers for fruit trees, decora-
tions to wells or springs, and various other applications. We
do not recommend this description of material for cottages or
permanent buildings, where one of a more permanent nature
can be employed ; but there are many cases in which the car-
penter of the place has little to do, and cthers where more
expensive materials are not easily procured, and in all such
cases rustic-work of the kind we mention affords a valuable
resource. We recommend, as furnishing models, Ricauti’s Rustic
Architecture, noticed in p.34., and another work by the same
author, about to be published, entitled Sketches for Rustic-Work.
The reader will also find a variety of designs adapted for this
kind of work in our Encyclopedia of Cottage Architecture, and in
the Suburban Gardener.

Public and Royal Gardens. —'The London parks, and the re-
creation of the working classes in them, have of late years been
more cared for by the Woods and Forests than formerly.
When the Regent’s Park was first laid out, about 1815, there
were no roads but those adapted for carriages, and throughout
the whole length of these roads there was not a single seat on
which the wearied pedestrian, or a mother and her children, could
sit down. Gradually, however, in consequence of the subject
being taken up by the public press, this park has been in a great
part opened to the public, and gravel walks, seats, and other
accommodations, formed for general use. A new place of public
recreation has been projected in the east of London, to be called
Victoria Park, and an act passed for purchasing the ground,
about 290 acres; a plan for laying out which is published in the
Report of the Woods and Forests for 1841, and in the Wes¢-
minster Review for November. A public park is projected in the
south of London, in the parish of Lambeth, to be called Lan-
caster Park; and one also on the south side, but intermediate
between the Lambeth park and that of Greenwich; so that in
a few years we may reasonably expect to see a sufficient number
of breathing-places, in and about the metropolis, for the health
of the inhabitants. The Green Park, St. James’s Park, Hyde
Park, and Kensington Gardens, have all been more or less im-
proved, with a view to public accommodation. For the latter
we have suggested the planting and naming of a few ornamental

590 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening,

trees and shrubs; a fountain for the central basin, to be worked
by steam; and islands near the two extreme ends of the Ser-
pentine River, in order to conceal the terminations of that piece
of water..

Some changes have taken place in the grounds about Windsor
Castle; but when we saw them, in May last, they did not appear
to us to merit the name of improvements. We have seen a plan
for a kitchen-garden of 20 acres to be formed at Frogmore; but
nothing is said of such a plan in the Report for 1841. We re-
commend the kitchen-garden at Versailles as a model. ;

We have elsewhere (p. 652.) stated the intention of the Woods
and Forests to form public walks on the crown lands at Stirling;
and, in the Report referred to, it is noticed that between 14 and
15 acres of land at St. Andrews, the crown leases of which had
expired, are given up to the town, on consideration of their pre-
serving certain structures already existing, including a gateway
and towers, as objects of antiquarian and historical interest.
This ground will, doubtless, be turned into a public garden.
There are other towns, both in England and Scotland, as well as
in Ireland, similarly circumstanced to St. Andrews; and we have
little doubt the commissioners will be equally liberal to them
when an opportunity offers. What we should wish to see, above
all other things connected with public parks and gardens, are, the
arrangement and planting of Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Craigs
as a public garden and monumental cemetery for Edinburgh, or
rather for Scotland. We would have no common graves or
gravestones in it to vulgarise the conspicuous features, but only
walks, and handsome monuments; the ground being planted with
every tree and shrub that would grow there. Burying places for
those who could not afford ornamental monuments would be
provided in proper situations, and surrounded by masses of
plantation.

Cemeteries are now established in the suburbs of London in
every direction, and they are either formed or in contemplation
near most of our large towns. The defects and excellences of those
of Manchester, Liverpool, and Glasgow will be pointed out in the
course of our tour, in our ensuing volume. We are happy to see
some attention bestowed on churchyards in different parts of the
country. The improvements in these consist in keeping the surface
of the ground even, in consequence of which it can be mown and
kept as neat as a lawn; in forming regular gravelled or paved
walks through and around the area; in forming a paved gutter
round old churches which have dripping eaves; and in intro-
ducing here and there a few evergreen shrubs or trees, such as
the Irish yew, the cypress, the cembran pine, and, in some
cases, the cedar of Lebanon. As an example of a churchyard
reformed after this manner in the very best taste, we refer to

and of Rural Improvement generally during 1841. 591

Oving near Chichester, for which the public are indebted to the
proprietor of the living, Miss Woods of Shopwyke. A good
deal has also been done in the same manner with some of the
churchyards in Edinburgh and Leith; and a great Improvement,
introduced into these and some other burying grounds in
Scotland, consists in the use of a box for containing the soil
thrown out of the grave in digging it. This keeps the grass
and the ground round the grave quite clear; and it also saves
much labour, because, by taking off one of the movable sides
of the box and tilting it up, the soil is instantly returned to
the excavation. We shall describe this box and its uses
more in detail in our next volume. It is worthy of notice, that
the improvement of the churchyards of Edinburgh and Leith
arose from the circumstance of gardeners having been employed
in them as superintendants.

Garden Literature. — Perhaps the most valuable books for
gardeners, which have been published in the course of the year,
are, the Selection from the Physiological and Horticultural Papers
of the late Mr. Knight (p. 327.), and a cheap and excellent work
On Vegetable Physiology, forming part of a popular cyclopeedia
of natural science (p. 327. and 593.). The first volume of the
Flora of North America, by Drs. Torrey and Gray, has been
completed, and forms one of the most interesting botanical
publications, in a practical point of view, that couid fall into the
hands of a native of Britain, who is desirous of enriching his
country with the plants of other countries of analogous climates.
In this first volume of the North American Flora, there are
some hundreds of species of herbaceous and ligneous plants
that have never yet been introduced to Britain in a living state ;
and, as the work is expected to extend to several volumes, it
will show that the species which remain to be introduced from
North America, and which will be perfectly hardy in our
gardens, amount to several thousands. When we reflect on
this, and also on the number of species which are every year
being introduced from the mountainous districts of India, and
which are also hardy in our climate, the mind is filled with
wonder and delight at the botanical riches which at no distant
time will be exhibited in the artificial scenery of this country.
The Gardener's Chronicle was commenced in January last, and
is, without doubt, a journal which will have a most powerful in-
fluence on the progress of gardening. As it must be in the
hands of all our readers, it is unnecessary for us to say more
respecting it; further than this, that it is our intention to note in
this Magazine every thing in the Cfronicle that we think neces-
sary to constitute our miscellany what it professes to be, “a
register of all gardening improvements.” With the Gardener’s

1841. — XII. 3d Ser. QQ

592 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening.

Gazette, of which we undertook the editorship about a year ago,
we ceased, with the number for November 6th, to have any far-
ther connexion, for reasons with which it is unnecessary to trou-
ble our readers. The botanical periodicals mentioned in our
Report for last year continue to prosper, and there has been
added to them the Phytologist, a cheap botanical monthly
journal. Downing’s Theory and Practice of Landscape-Garden-
ing (p. 421. and 472.) is a masterly work of its kind, more
especially considering that it was produced in America, where
landscape-gardening is necessarily in its infancy. Brande’s
Dictionary of Science, Literature, and Art (p.177. and 599.) is
a work which, though not on gardening, yet every gardener
ought to possess who cannot afford the Penny Cyclopedia.
Mrs. Loudon’s Practical Instructions in Gardening for Ladies
has come to a second edition in the course of the year; and a
second edition also of her Companion to the Ladies’ Flower-Gar-
den is in preparation. The volume on Ornamental Bulbs is
completed, and that on Ornamental Perennials will be com-
menced on January Ist. ‘The first number of an Abridgement
of our Arboretum Britannicum will appear on the Ist of De-
cember; and also the sixth number of our Suburban Horticulturist,
which was discontinued during our absence in Scotland. Our
Supplement to the Encyclopedia of Plants was published in June
last. ‘The most interesting work published in France in the
course of the year is, we think, Auguste de St. Hilaire’s Lecons
de Botanique ; and in Germany, the completion of Endlicher’s
Genera Plantarum, according to the natural system.

Gardening and Rural Improvement in Foreign Countries. —
We have little on this subject to add to what we stated in our
summary for the past year (p. 630.). The state of gardening in
the neighbourhood of Paris may be gathered from our garden-
ing visit (p. 101. 287. and 383.). In Germany, the Doberan
meeting of German Agriculturists and Silviculturists was held
from the Ist to the 8th of September, when a number of papers
were read, and articles exhibited. ** For the silvicultural section,
upwards of 100 different sorts of Pinus and Abies had been sent
in living specimens from the Flottbeck Nurseries, accompanied
with a descriptive account by Mr. John Booth, of which 1000
copies were distributed, and for which the president of the silvi-
cultural section returned a vote of thanks.” (Gazd. Chron., vol. i.
p. 614.) Some new plants introduced into the North of Italy in
the course of the year 1840 are enumerated by M. Manetti
(p. 182. and 565.); and some notices of the gardens in the United
States and in South America, by Edward Otto, will be found in
p- 379. Ofthe Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India,
an interesting account is. given in the Gardener's Chronicle, vol. i.

Bohemia Park, near Hastings. 593

p: 631.3; by which it appears that the Saharumpore Botanic Gar-
den is proving a most useful institution, both for India and
Europe, by transmitting and receiving collections of seeds and
plants. It is gratifying to find that every year is adding to the
number of hardy articles which we receive from the Hima-
layan Mountains.

Obituary. — Daniel Ellis, Esq., an eminent vegetable physio-
logist, and Francis Bauer, Esq., distinguished as a botanical
draughtsman, have died in the course of the year in this country ;
and we lament to be obliged to add to the list the justly cele-
brated DeCandolle on the Continent. As an eminent patron of
gardening and architecture, who possessed the most refined
taste in both arts, we have to deplore the loss of Lord Monson,
who, at Gatton Park, Surrey, had projected a series of improve-
ments which would have rendered that place one of the most
remarkable in England. Lord Monson was not less distin-
guished for his refined taste and good sense, than for his uni-
versal benevolence and amiability.

Art. II. Notice of Bohemia Park, the Property and Residence of
Wastel Brisco, Esq. By H.C. O.

THE notices of gardens and country seats in your Magazine
I have always considered extremely interesting ; particularly when
points of good culture, or when any remarkable facts, are in-
cluded in the observations. Such being my opinion of them, I
shall, as occasion offers, forward you a notice of any place I may
see, which I think may be interesting to your readers, leaving it
to your judgement whether or not you think it worthy of inser-
tion. My powers of description are not equal to those of many
of your contributors, but I hope an occasional practical observa-°
tion will make up for other deficiencies. With regard to the
architectural style of the house, in any of my notices, I shall
say but little; indeed, I think there would be a difficulty in dis-
tinguishing many of them as belonging to any particular style.
Bohemia, the residence and property of Wastel Brisco, Esq.,
is situated about one mile north-west of the town of Hastings,
and commands singularly beautiful and extensive land and sea
views, extending from Beachy Head to Dungeness Point. The
house, a modern-built one, stands on a declivity, the ground
rising gradually ; it was the residence of the Princess Sophia of
Gloucester in the year 1830. ‘The present possessor has en-
closed the estate with a stone wall, which is a great improvement
QQ 2

594 Bohemia Park, near Hastings.

as far as regards that portion adjoining the high road; but the
principal improvements are in the garden.

On the east side of the house, and adjoining to it, is a large
green-house, which contains some fine specimens of geraniums,
particularly Smith’s new scarlet ; also May’s new fuchsias, many
species of Cacti, a fine plant of Abutilon striatum, and a quantity
of young plants of Araucaria imbricata, raised there from seed,
the whole of which were very healthy. In front of the house is
a broad terrace walk, with which I was particularly struck; it
being apparently very hard and level, an occurrence very unusual
in this neighbourhood, from the want of good gravel. The gar-
dener, Mr. Fielder, informed me it was composed of pounded
chalk, and fine shingle from the sea-side, made into a mortar,
laid down in its wet state, 6 in. thick, and rolled as soon as it
got a little set; it appeared almost like a solid pavement. Two
feet below this walk, and divided from it by a green bank, is a
piece of level turf about 50 ft. wide, from which you descend by
a flight of steps to the flower-garden. ‘This is divided from the
lawn by a neat stone wall, having a southern aspect, the top be-
ing on a level with the lawn: there were some fine plants of Ery-
thrina Crista galli, Salvia patens, spléndens, falgens, involucrata,
&c., planted against it, beautifully in flower. The flower-garden
is laid out in beds of various shapes, the whole forming a square.
The walks are 4 ft. wide, made with the same sort of materials
as the above terrace. The beds are judiciously planted with cal-
ceolarias, heliotropiums, geraniums, pansies, berberries, &c.,
also several fine specimens of Tropze’olum tricolorum, and about
150 varieties of China roses, many of them first-rate sorts. Mr.
Fielder informed me that he has a splendid collection of bulbs, to
take the place of the tender plants as soon as they are destroyed
by frost.

To the south of this, and leading to the kitchen-garden, which

is entirely out of view, are the pleasure-ground and shrubbery,

containing some beds of roses, rhododendrons, azaleas, and other
shrubs, as well as many choice coniferous plants ; among others,
Araucaria imbricata; the whole of which are growing luxuri-
antly, and appear to stand the sea air well. Below this shrub-
bery is the kitchen-garden, containing about one acre, surrounded
by awall 12 ft. high, into which are built iron loops; willow rods
are introduced through them to train the trees to, and answer
the purpose very well: thus, nailing is entirely done away
with.

The young trees, which were planted at the time of the forma-
tion of the garden, two years ago, are in a very promising state.
The walks have brick edges, which in many situations are pre-
ferable to box, or any of its substitutes. On the north side of

Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. 595

the garden, and at a distance from the outside of the wall, is a
high bank, caused by excavating the earth to make the garden
level: against the bank there is a wall built, to prevent the earth
falling into the north slip. On the top of this bank Mr. Fielder
has planted pear trees, and trained them downwards: at present
they are looking well. Close to the back of the stables is a
range of cucumber and melon pits; the latter contained an ex-
cellent crop of the Beachwood green-flesh. Preparations are
making for a range of pine-pits; and I have no doubt, in the
hands of the present spirited proprietor and his gardener, Mr.
Fielder, Bohemia will become a place of considerable note with
the surrounding country. — August, 1841.

Art. III. The Principles of Gardening physiologically considered. By
G. REGEL, Gardener in the Royal Botanic Garden, Berlin.
(Translated from the Garten Zeitung, May 9th, 1840.)
(Continued from p. 535. )

I. On tHe PropaGation oF PLANTS.
B. Propagation by Buds.
1. BUDS AND THEIR METAMORPHOSES — continued.

Tue bulb is a metamorphosed bud in a higher state of ad-
vancement, the different parts of which it is composed being
all increased in size, and more fully developed. That part
which represents the axillary portion of the bud is very much
enlarged in the bulb, in the lower part of which it forms the
large circular disk called the root-plate. On this are fixed the
scales which represent the leafy coverings of the bud, but in a
much higher state of organisation ; and their form is determined
by that of the leaves of the species to which they belong. If
the leaves can be traced distinctly into the bulb, it is said to be
tunicated, as in the onion; and, if they cannot, the bulb is called
scaly, as in the lily.

Bulbs are generally propagated by offsets, which partake of
the nature of seed, in producing distinct individuals; and, like
seeds, they resist external influences, and retain their vital powers
for a great length of time: thus, the offsets of some kinds of
Allium often germinate after having been kept in the herbarium
upwards of a year. On the root-plate is formed the new bulb,
which is to supply the place of the old one the following season,
just as new buds form every autumn to supply the place of those
that have been developed the preceding spring: but, in the bud,

2a 3

596 Principles of Gardening

the latent buds, or germs, which exist in the axils of the leaves
are rarely called into action; while in bulbs, the corresponding
germs are very frequently developed in the form of little bulbs,
which appear on the margin of the root-plate. ‘The same germs,
or latent buds, when they exist in the axils of the flower buds,
appear to become ovula, and after fructification to change into
seeds. ‘These metamorphosed bulbs appear either singly or se-
veral together ; and, in the latter case, they are sometimes, as in
Allium spherocéphalum, seated on a long bundle of vessels,
which looks like a filiform pillar, and in its developement shows
some analogy to the umbilicus of seeds. I am of opinion,
therefore, that these ovula and the offsets are both produced by
a change in the rudiments of the bud; and that the offset and
the seed are at first similar structures, but that, from the various
changes they undergo, they are transformed into differently
organised parts, which, however, in their functions bear a great
resemblance to each other. As a proof of this may be men-
tioned the transformation of the ovula, after imperfect impreg-
nation, into bulb-buds, as in Jancus supinus and Poa bulbosa;
or into bulb-tubers or corms, as in Pancratium, Crinum, Ama-
ryllis, &c. The latter, however, never happens when the plants are
artificially impregnated ; and when we think we perceive an em-
bryo in these growths, it consists only of the already formed young
shoot of the tuber, which is surrounded by the thick testa. The
succeeding stages cf growth prove this; as the plant is developed,
not like a monocotyledonous seed, but like a bulb-tuber or corm.
In the seeds of the Orchidaceee, also, a very remarkable pheno-
menon is observable. ‘They have a testa of very delicate con-
struction, much larger than the embryo within, which, by the
help of a glass, appears like a dark dot in the middle of the
single cellular integument. Perfect fructification seems to have
taken place in all the extraordinary number of small seeds in a
seed-vessel, though their coming to maturity seems to be pre-
vented by their being so numerous. In the few cases in which
germination has been observed, the embryo gradually swells and
forms itself into a tuber before it makes roots; and, as it appears
that all seeds of the Orchidaceze undergo this metamorphosis, it
may account for their being so difficult to germinate, as other-
wise, from the nature of their testa, it is probable they would
very soon come up. Finally, among plants of a lower organis-
ation, there are beautiful analogies between seed and seed-
grains. Thus, Mnium andrégynum Z. scarcely ever perfects its
fruit; but, instead of it, there appear on the point of the fruit-
stalk granules or seed-buds. The whorl of leaves which forms
the capsule decays, and on the fruit axis, instead of real seeds, a
number of small stalked seed-grains are found formed, like little
beads. This formation will be understood from the above de-

physiologically considered. 597

scription: the seed-grains entirely fill the place of seeds; all
possess vitality, and the Lunularia vulgaris, so common in
German gardens, propagates itself only in this way. In lichens
they often burst in astonishing numbers from the leaves, so that
the whole surface of the leaf appears to be covered with a gra-
nulated powder; and the plants on which this takes place to a
great extent scarcely ever seed.

Some time ago, an often mooted subject was again brought
forward in these pages, namely, the possibility of the develope-
ment of sound seed without tructification. ‘The fact, as men-
tioned by M. Bernhardi, cannot be doubted; the more so, as it
appears to me, from what has been said, that such a form of
seed, the construction of which may be something between
a seed-bulb and a tuber, is possible.

The rudiments of the bud, when they begin to expand, dis-
play an independent individuality; not only in the cases we
have mentioned, but also when they are developed in any other
manner by metamorphosis or art. ‘They show a striking
analogy to the seed-bulb, when they appear like little buds in
the axils of the leaves of some annual plants which do not
usually produce branches, as in Dentaria bulbifera; and in
several species of Lilium, Begonza, and Saxifraga, they appear
among the flowers; or, as in some of the begonias, along the
whole of the stalk. Rudiments of buds on annual plants that
have done flowering may be made to germinate by artificial
means. For this purpose, the stalk is cut down to below the part
where it has flowered, and then put, like any other cutting, into
the ground. In moist and confined air, with the proper degree
of heat, these cuttings make no roots at the section in the
ground; but the latent buds in the axils of the leaves are
developed, and grow into young branches, throwing out at
their base a number of roots closely provided with hairs for
absorption, and thus become independent as soon as they are
developed. ‘These young shoots are then taken off, and treated
as cuttings which have already rooted. In this manner, accord-
ing to my colleague Brauer’s experiments, the red-flowered
Lobelig, Gloriosa supérba, and several species of Phlox and
Dioscorea, may be propagated very easily. Some lilies which
have no bulb-buds in the axils produce them when treated in
this way.

Here may be mentioned, also, the buds which grow some-
times on leaves, or on the edges of leaves. The formation
of buds round the edges of the leaves of Bryophyllum, when
these leaves are laid with the under side on a pot full of moist
earth, is well known. ‘The same phenomenon is less known in
the genera Kalanchoe, Echevéria, and Gloxinia; and Echevérza
gibbiflora has this peculiarity, that the upper leaves possess the

aq 4

598 Principles of Gardening

property in a much higher degree than the lower ones; this
proceeds merely from their greater age, as, when younger, they
form buds as easily as the others. ‘The appearance of these
buds takes place at the same time as the roots at the base; as
long as the leaves are on the plant they only sprout when the
atmosphere is very damp and warm, or when, by making in-
cisions in the leaf-stalk, the returning sap is interrupted. In
Bryophyllum, they are seated like a conical knob in the axils of
the notches, and are connected with the bundle of spiral vessels
which form the veins of the leaf.

From this circumstance, the single fruit, or seed-vessel, was
said to consist of a fruit-leaf bent over and grown together. In
growing together, the pouch was formed which contained the
ovula; and this view of the case was applied to all formations
of seed, and hypothesis upon hypothesis raised upon it. In the
present day this view must be considered erroneous, at least,
partly so; as, among the vast number of plants, there are hitherto
but few examples known where buds grow on the edges of the
leaves. It may also be remarked, that the ovula never pro-
ceed from the edges themselves, but from the bundle of vessels
lying on them; and we have no right to suppose that these
vessels are formed by the growing together of the edges of the
leaves, when we see in all other cases in nature that the ribs
and veins of the leaf give the direction to its form, but usually
end before coming to the edge. Propagating plants by leaves,
which was adduced as a strong proof of the validity of this
opinion, by no means justifies it; for, when roots and buds are
formed (though for the most part they only make roots, and
many leaves remain for years together, fill the whole pot with
roots, and form no buds; so that, to make sure of succeeding,
the axillary bud ought to be removed with the leaf), the latter
proceed from immediately above the cut, out of the leaf-stalk,
and, except in the above-mentioned cases, never out of the
edges of the leaf. I do not, however, assert from this, that
fruit cannot be formed without an axis; for Nature does not
suffer herself to be trammeled with systems. Should there,
however, be such a formation of fruit, which, nevertheless has not
as yet come under my knowledge, it must take place apparently,
as M. Meyen very justly remarks, from the passing over of the
axis into the fruit-leaf; and the ovula would be much more
likely to spring from the axils of the veins, than from the edges
of the leaves.

That such a form of fructitication is possible, but by no means
normal, is proved by the circumstance that on many leaves, in
favourable situations, buds exactly like those developed from
the rudiments of buds have been observed. ‘They were first re-
marked by Poiteau on the whole surface of the leaf, springing

physiologically considered. 599

from the veins of detached leaves of Ornithégalum thyrséideum.
Cassini noticed them in the axils of the leaf-stalks of Cardamine
praténsis; M. Hensler, on the points of the leaves of Malaxis
paludosa; Meyen, on the inner and outer surfaces of the scales
of hyacinth bulbs; and my colleague, Ludewig, in this garden,
on the edge of an oval cotyledon 14 in. long and 3 in. thick.
The seed seerned to belong to one of the Legumindse, and the
cotyledon itself was broken off by mistake from the young plant,
and again put into the ground.

Lastly, in the fronds of many ferns, bulb-buds of a similar
form are produced, such as in Aspidium bulbiferum, Wood-
wardia radicans, Acréstichum flagelliforme, &c., which cannot
really surprise us, as these also bear seed. ‘They appear on the
back or on the surface, on the middle or side veins, in the
notches of the frond or near the edge, as in Ceratépteris; but
they are always connected with the vessels. Detached leaves of
Hemionitis palmata, laid upon moist earth, produce young
plants round the edges like Bryophy¥llum.

The perfect bulb lasts either one or more years. Perennial
bulbs increase yearly, as those of the lily. The annual, or rather
biennial, bulb, after it has blossomed, forms a new one by pro-
liferations at the side, which, as it increases in size, consumes
the old bulb, and is ready to flower the following year. We
have an example of this in the tulip. The bulb-tuber, or corm,
already mentioned, is a modification of the common bulb. Ac-
cording to Link, it arises from the rind of the disk of the bulb
becoming exceedingly thick, instead of assuming the leafy
form which only appears as thin scales, as in J’xia, Gladiolus,
Crocus, &c.

The tuber is the last form by which propagation is very
readily effected. ‘Tubers are formed from a change which the
buds, more or less in number, undergo with the underground
stem. The pith, and the outer coat of the stem, increase much
in size at the same time; and as many rudiments of buds as
there are of the small scaly leaf attached to the parts about to be
transformed (which leaf is usually scarcely perceptible with a
magnifying glass), so many eyes are formed as rudiments of
young plants in the tuber. In this case, the individuality of the
bud has been long known; and hence has arisen the custom of
cutting out the eyes of potatoes, and planting them in the ground
instead of the whole tuber, by which process each is developed
into a young plant, nearly in the same way as a bulb-bud.
Potato plants produce their underground stem, from which the
tuber is formed, from the base of their main stem; therefore, as
soon as the young plants have attained a certain height they are
hoed up, which increases their growth and number. Only those
tubers which are formed by the above-described transformation,

600 Importance of the Study of

and have eyes, can be considered real tubers ; Tropze‘olum tube-
rosum, T. tricolbrum, T. pentaphyllum, Helianthus tuberosus,
&c. The enlarged roots of the Scitaminaceze, of Cyrilla, and
Trevirana, are only, in fact, proliferous side roots; the bent
knobby root of Gloridsa proceeds from an underground stem,
but can only produce a bud at one end of it. The roots of
Batdtas, Gloxinia, Gésnera, Dahlia, &c., are merely enlarged
roots, and, when divided, must have a part of the neck, or collar,

of the root attached, which alone has the property of producing
buds.
( To be continued. )

Art. IV. On the Importance of the Study of Natural History to
Gardeners. By PETER MACKENZIE.

Few will deny but that the study of natural history is advan-
tageous to all who engage in it, but more especially to the
gardener: to him it is of solid benefit, without bringing into
account the unalloyed delights that accompany the study of the
design, and order, and balance, that are to be found in the wide
field of created objects. This is a subject that has been recom-
mended in this Magazine from its commencement to the present
time, and I hope that it will never be lost sight of while this
periodical exists, and may that be as long as the present order
of things remains! Every department of natural history has its
admirers and cultivators; the time has gone past when it was
held in low estimation; and the means are daily increasing
whereby we may be made acquainted with the gigantic and
minute objects that abound upon our world. ‘The facilities that
now exist enable man to proceed in the way of knowledge at a
rate unknown to those who have gone before us, and we must
have ourselves to blame if we do not lay hold of the oppor-
tunities that are offered for our help.

The zoological systems of Linnzeus and Cuvier place man at
the head of the whole arrangement: in the one he is found in
the order Primates, genus Homo; in the other he occupies
alone the order Bimana. ‘This part of natural history is not
studied with the attention which its importance demands. I

think it has the appearance of something unnatural, to hear

gardeners and others talking about systems of inanimate matter,
and cannot tell of their own standing in the world of life and
being. It is something like a man setting himself up to teach
the geography of the moon, who knows nothing about the topo-
graphy within the branch of the apparent horizon by which he
is surrounded. It is all very well for gardeners to know some-
thing of vegetable physiology, such as cellular tissue and all the

Natural History to Gardeners. 601

other tissues that belong to vegetables, and the means by which
plants perform their vital actions; to be able to tell what they
feed upon, to know of their digestion and respiration, as well as
the circulation of the fluids that takes place within them; all these
things, and many more, are of importance for gardeners to know:
but to know these things, and remain ignorant of the structure of
his own body; to know nothing of the cellular, muscular, and
nervous tissues of which that body is composed; in fact, to know
more about the Monas Térmo than he does of himself, is doing
an injustice to himself and posterity. Such knowledge is of too
great importance to be left entirely in the hands of physicians
and surgeons. It is said by a writer on animal physiology, ‘that
the science of life is perfectly open to the student of nature, to
the cultivation of which he may approach without the appre-
hension of meeting with any extraordinary difficulties. The
obvious and peculiar advantages of this kind of knowledge are,
that it would enable its possessor to take a more rational care of
his health; to perceive how certain circumstances are beneficial
or injurious; to understand in some degree the nature of disease,
and the operation as well of the agents that produce it, as of
those that counteract it; to observe the first beginning of de-
ranged functions in his own person; to give tohis physician a
more intelligible account of his train of morbid sensations as
they arise; and, above all, to cooperate with him in removing the
morbid state on which they depend, instead of defeating, as is now
through gross ignorance constantly done, the best-concerted
plans for the renovation of health.”

Passing from the solids and fluids of the human body, there
is something else that ought to occupy the attention of the
gardener who has the desire of improving himself, namely, the
history of the human mind. ‘This is a subject which every ra-
tienal creature ought to be made acquainted with. It is surely
of importance to know the extent and capacity of that mind
that is planted within man, when, by means of it, he may,
step by step, arrive at that justness and truth of understanding
which is the great perfection of a rational being; yet how
many thousands are ignorant of its operations, and regard it as
a thing of no value, resigning the study of it, without any
cause, into the hands of the professors of logic !
~ It is a common complaint with some gardeners, that they have
not the means within their reach for improving their minds.
The complaint, in some cases, may be just; but I would ask
the question, Do they employ the means and opportunities that
are within their power to the best advantage? Is it not a
common practice with many gardeners, and Scotchmen among
the rest, in the neighbourhood of large towns, to meet upon a
Sabbath, and, instead of seeking to hold converse with their

602 Experiments with pure Earths.

Maker, either in his works or in his word, hasten away to some
gas-lichted tap-room, and there talk of their patriotism amidst
the fumes of alcohol and tobacco? and in their cups they will
not forget to say,

“ Here’s to gude auld Scotland yet;”

and continue their bacchanalian carousal until they are scarcely
able to lift the pot to their mouth, or reach their arm across
the narrow table, and say, being unable to sing,
““ Come, gie’s your hand, my trusty friend,
And there’s a hand o’ mine,

And we'll tak’ a right gude wally waught
For auld lang syne.”

Such men, by continuing such habits, soon become a pest to
the profession they belong to, and a disgrace to the country
that gave them birth. The continuation of scenes that would
shame Pandemonium must soon make unwelcome inroads upon
their weekly earnings, and undermine a framework that contains
a gem that, by proper culture and training, might have proved
a blessing to themselves, and an ornament in society, instead of
being looked upon as the vilest weed, and shunned by their
fellows as they would shun an ophidian reptile.

How different is the example of such men as the founders of
the West London Gardeners’ Association for mutual Instruc-
tion! ‘These men will enjoy the luxury of doing good, and
make true that saying of holy writ which is spoken by Solomon,
“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth:” while they
impart knowledge to others, their own minds will become more
fruitful. What a contrast there is between the men who are
willing to raise their fellow-men to honour and dignity, and
those who have to cast up their accounts in Newgate, and pay
their reckoning in the hulks or Norfolk Island! I intended to
say a few words in commendation of mutual instruction societies
among gardeners ; but, as my sheet is full, I must leave it to
another opportunity.

West Plean, Nov. 5. 1841.

Art. V. Notice of a comparative Trial of the Qualities of various
pure Earths for supporting Vegetation, made in the Gardens of
Messrs. Drummond, at Stirling. Communicated by Messrs. W.
DrummMonp and Sons.

Oats sown in the middle of April, reared in pots 8 in. in
diameter, three plants in each, and plunged to the rim in an open
border, cinders being put under them, and care otherwise taken
that the roots should obtain no extraneous nourishment. The

Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 603

plants were watered a few times in very dry weather. The
stalks were in general about 3 fi. in height. The grain fully
ripened.

ata PRODUCE.

arths. i
Granite (Aberdeen ) - - - “3 "220"
Clay-slate (primitive) - - - Il 241
Greenstone, secondary trap - - - 10 245
Limestone, tertiary formation 5 3 - 9 251
Chalk - - - - - 13 355
Gypsum (very sickly plants) - - Se LAB 40
Sandstone, of the newer formation - - 12 230
Pit sand, brown siliceous = - - 10 210
Blue clay from a tilled field, 10 ft. under the surface - 10 242
Mixture of the above - - ay &) 190

Common light loamy soil - - - 18 453
These experiments seem worthy of further prosecution, par-
ticularly relative to the respective influence of the atmosphere
and soil on vegetation, in the furnishing and assimilating of the
food of plants. ‘The oats were sown at our nursery grounds in
the middle of April, and ripened in the beginning of September.
Stirling, Nov. 13. 1841.

Art. VI. The Landscape-Gardening of F. L. von Sckeil of Munich.
Translated from the German for the “ Gardener’s Magazine.”

(Continued from p. 505.)
X. On tracing and staking out Streams and Brooks.

1. WHENEVER a stream exceeds 100 ft. in breadth it no longer
belongs to the garden, both on account of limited space, and
the necessary expense that would be incurred; and also because
streams of a much less magnitude are more adapted for a garden,
and afford more charms and pleasure: but if the landscape-
gardener does not wish to have such streams, he should take
care that his garden is not totally without water ; because that is
to be without life.

Water is the soul of gardening; and, where it is to be found,
there is also Philomel and all the other vocal choir of the forest.
There nature is decorated with her liveliest colours, and the
children of Flora appear in parti-coloured attire by the side of
the murmuring brooks.

.2. The broad streams must have quite another course from
the smaller streams, and the broader they are so much the
larger and majestic should the line of the stream be; therefore,
only powerful obstacles should prevent it from running in
another direction. It is quite the reverse with smaller streams,
as the most trifling impediment is quite sufficient to turn them to
the right hand or the left; and this is the reason that in nature

604 Sckell’s Landscape- Gardening.

small streams have so many tortuous windings, which parti-
cularly distinguish them from large rivers. In staking out the
broad river, therefore, the landscape-gardener should form the
outline in a noble style, with bold and powerful bendings, but
not with a too frequent repetition of wavy lines.

The lines of both sides of the river and the rivulet ought
never to be made exactly parallel, and the same form of outline
ought never to be repeated; as Nature, even here, is true to her
principles, and these should always be imitated by art.

If, therefore, the right bank of the stream makes a powerful
bend outwardly, the left bank of the stream must make the same
inwardly, into the stream itself; but these bends should not
always be exactly opposite each other, but more or less above or
below, and always varied in form, if you faithfully imitate Nature
in these rivers, and wish to have your work considered as part
of hers.

3. Although the low banks of a river or brook have seldom
a romantic character, they are much to be preferred in a garden
to those that are high and steep; because they present a greater
surface of water to the eye, and are not so liable to have the
banks give way, which not only has a terrific appearance, but
is extremely dangerous to the passers by. But by high banks
we do not mean those which have been formed in the rocks by
nature or art, and covered with the most beautiful shrubs. Such
banks are of great importance in the rural landscape; because
they give a character of solidity and strength, and form a con-
trast to the objects of an opposite character by their impending
cliffs and continued variety of shade, and by the very numerous
assemblage of forms and colours which they display: therefore,
banks of such a character cannot be too often introduced. No
bays or outlets ought to be formed in rivers, such as are seen in
lakes, as this would give the idea that the stream wished to open
to itself a new course, and for this purpose had broken its banks.

4. Rivers very seldom have any islands, and when this is the
case they should never be placed quite in the middle. They are
generally of a longish form, and placed somewhat near the side
of the river, and they should be rather narrower in form at both
ends.

5. These rivers, brooks, lakes, and ponds must be traced out
by the tracing-staff, and as much as possible in imitation of such
lines in nature; and, as the earth must here be dug out, it will
not do to have it done at random. When the principal outline
has been traced and staked out, attention must be paid to local
character, and to natural artistical effect.

6. There are cases in which imposing streams can be made to
appear in a garden with but a small supply of water, and this is
done by deception. ‘Such artificial productions can only deceive

Sckell’s Landscape-Gardening. 605

the eye to a certain extent, such as to the point where the stream
seems to be checked by an impenetrable thicket, and appears
beyond, as asmall brook which had produced the supply. When
the eye can no longer follow the course of the stream on account
of the deep rocky abysses overgrown with thorns, the imagin-
ation has the fullest liberty to indulge in its own creation. When
there is but a scanty supply of water for such an undertaking,
and the extent it is to cover is great, none, if possible, should be
allowed to escape, through the soil of the bed or banks of the
stream, a circumstance which might be prevented by its having
a loamy bottom. In the garden at Blenheim, in England, a
majestic stream is produced by means of this successful decep-
tion, and it is greatly increased by the sight of a large vessel
lying at anchor. But such an illusion is not easily effected; the
slowly gliding stream soon awakens suspicion, and I can, there-
fore, only advise my readers to venture on such an undertaking
in the most extreme cases, because it but very seldom succeeds.

7. The character of smaller streams, as it has been already
stated, is, that they are more tortuous in their forms according to
their breadth; that is, that their serpentine lines are more fre-
quently repeated than those of larger rivers. The windings of
these small streams always seem more natural when the real or
apparent causes of them frequently present themselves. When
the windings are extensive, therefore, some large trees, groups of
low shrubs, or portions of rock, should be introduced, to give this
appearance.

When these streams are only 4 or 6 feet broad, they fre-
quently become divided, and leave a long tongue of land in the
centre, which nature usually decorates with flowers. It must be
observed, that large streams never have an equal breadth: the
right bank of the river, also, is as unlike the left bank, as the
windings of the serpentine lines which describe the form of these
brooks are similar to each other.

The best method of tracing and staking out such streams is,
first, to form the principal line, with its grand windings, by
stakes, or by a slight furrow in the ground, and then to make all
the smaller tortuous windings on the line itself, on the right and
left bank ; after which the first mark should be effaced.

Nature also lends a helping hand, and assists imitative art in
making the banks resemble her. In staking out these small
streams, they should frequently be made to approach the road
where they can be seen; they should then seem to penetrate into
thick overgrown bushes, and in other places re-appear with a
gentle murmur. ‘This frequent repetition has a delightful effect
in nature; it awakens the most enthusiastic feelings, and we can
only quit such scenes with an earnest desire of revisiting them.

(To be continued.)

606 Different Modes of glazing

Arr. VII. On different Modes of glazing Hothouses, Pits, &c. By
James Seymour, Kitchen-Gardener to the Countess of Bridge-
water.

Tuere are few subjects on which gardener’s differ more than
the glazing of plant structures. In some old gardens there are
several sorts of glazing to be found, both as to the shape and size
of panes. Some gardeners are advocates for large panes, as
they give more light by not having so many laps as the small
ones; but I do not like the large ones for several reasons. In
the first place, they are more likely to be broken by moving the
lights in giving air, and with hail storms, frost, &c.; and,
secondly, when there is a pane broken, it lets in much more air
than a small one, besides costing more to replace it

Suppose a vinery or peach-house to be glazed with panes.
10 in. deep by 62 wide, with an unputtied lap, it will be found
after a severe winter that many of the panes are split up the
middle, and that when taken out they are only fit for patching,
work which, at all times and in all structures, looks very un-
sightly. Ihave had an early vinery of this description under
my charge, and well know the inconvenience of large panes I
have very often thought there ought to be three or four sizes
of panes used in horticultural structures; say the largest size
for vineries, peach-houses, fig-houses, &c.; the next size for
pits for growing pines, melons, cucumbers, &c.; the next size
for frames ; and the smallest size for hand-glasses.

In many of the gardens it will be found that the vineries and
pits are glazed with the same-sized panes, so that when any of the
panes come to have a corner broken off, they must be removed to
insure the house being kept dry, and when they are taken out,
they cannot be used in the pits, on account of their being the
same size; but, had the panes in the pits been of a smaller size
than those of the vinery, then, in all probability, they would have
come in well without much loss.

Suppose there were a regular repair going on in one of the
vineries, a great many of the panes will be found blemished and
not fit to remain, but they would still be found large enough for
the pits and frames without much loss.

When there is a general repair going on with the hothouses,
the glazier ought to begin with the largest-sized pane first, and
work down to the smallest, and not, as frequently is the case,
cut a large piece of glass to replace a small one.

In my opinion there are no better-sized panes for hot-houses
than 7 in. wide by 43 deep; for pits, 4% by 3 in. deep; for
frames, 4 by 23 in. deep, &c., with a lap of 4 of an inch: the
glass to be clear, stout, and selected as flat and even as pos-
sible, so that the laps may be perfectly in contact one upon

Hothouses, Pits, &c. 607

the other. The panes must be cut so as that they do not fit too
tightly against the sash-bar (a point too frequently neglected
by some glaziers); they should have room left for the bars or
ribs to swell and expand. Before a light is glazed, all the
panes should be laid in loose, to see that they lie even and quite
flat, as well as range one with the other; and, when that is done,
the panes must be taken out, and some well worked putty laid in
the rabbet; the panes must then be replaced and pressed firmly
down, and the bottom pane bedded in the putty so as not to
leave a vacuity. .

In the spring of 1838, we had, at this place, occasion to re-
build two old metallic vineries; they were rebuilt with cast iron
by Messrs. Barwell & Co. of the Eagle Foundery, Northampton.
"They were glazed with panes 42 in. by 3 in. deep, with selected
and perfectly flat glass, direct from the glass-house, packed in
boxes that contained about 500 panes in each box, and put in
by the glaziers as I have described above.

The houses are heated by flat hot-water pipes. There are three
lights in a range upon the roof; the two bottom ranges, and the
corner ones of the top range, are secured down with pins and
putty: all the other top lights are movable, and managed by a
windlass. ‘The front sashes are hung upon hinges, and all open
outwards. We can give what air we wish by a rod of iron
attached to the sash, with holes in it; and in the sill there is a
pin to fasten the rod to. One corner is taken off each sash for
the purpose of taking in or out vines when required. There is
a piece of cast iron to fit into the corner of the sash, which is
fastened by two screw nuts, to keep the stem of the vine in its
place. The doors are made of wood, as they are easier kept in
order than iron ones, and much lighter to open. The roof of
these two houses contains about 9216 panes; the two ends and
partition, 1579 panes; and the front sashes, 1920 panes; with
three doors that contain each 20 panes 5 in. wide by 7 in. deep,
making a total of 12,775 panes. From the spring of 1838 to
the present time (Oct. 1841), there have only been 10 panes
broken in the roof by the frost, &c., and 12 in other parts by
accidents. ‘This house requires shading in hot clear weather.

In November, 1838, several of our lights were thrown off a
pine-pit by a strong gale of wind, and several panes broken ;
but one light was so very much broken, that I had it reglazed
with panes 7 in. wide by 44 in. deep, and the lap }in., and
glazed, in other respects, as I have recommended above.
The light is 8 ft. long by 4 ft. wide ; it contains 132 panes, and
is in constant use, being a bottom light; having pots of kidney-
beans placed upon the flue all the autumn, winter, and spring,
The lights are frequently moved, and consequently liable to
accidents. There have only been two panes split by the frost,

1841,— XII. 3d Ser. RR

608 New Hardy Trees

and one broken by accident, up to the present time (Oct. 1841).
The size it was glazed with before was 7 in. wide by 84 in. deep,
and an open space left between the panes; and the laps were
iin. deep. The sacrifice of glass and plants by frost, and by letting
in the cold air, was considerable; but as one of the panes
got broken, I had it replaced by two. ‘There used to be a
great many broken at the bottom of this pit by the frost; the
laps being all left open with a view of letting out the condensed
steam that run down the ribs, &c. I have had the whole of the
bottom panes taken out, cut in two, and bedded in putty; so
that now I have rarely one broken by the frost, as there is no
water to congeal. This method of puttying the laps, I find, very
much strengthens the glass.

I should be glad to hear the experience of others on the
subject of glazing; and I also should like very much to see
some remarks on the handles and fastenings of hothouse lights,
as almost every gardener has his own method.

Frithsden Gardens, Ashridge Park, Herts, Oct. 18. 1841.

Art. VIII. Report on the new Species and Varieties of Hardy Trees
and Shrubs raised in the Horticultural Society's Garden, since the
last Report made in November, 1840, and published in the “ Gardener's
Magazine’’ for that Year, p.631. Drawn up for the “ Gardener’s
Magazine,” by George Gordon, A.L.S., Superintendant of the
Arboretum, by Permission of the Council of the Horticultural
Society.

I. Plants raised from Seeds received from Dr. Royle, and which are certainly

true to the Names sent with them.

Syri’nGdA Emodi Wall. Cat. No. 2831.; Don’s Miller, vol. iv.

p. 51.; Royle Illust. vol. i. p. 267., and t. 65. fig. 2.; and Arb.

Brit., abridged edit. fig. 1244.—Leaves elliptic-oblong, glaucous

beneath, attenuated at the base, and acuminated at the apex.

(G. Don.) A handsome deciduous shrub from 8 ft. to 10 ft. high,

native of Kamaon towards the Himalaya, with purple flowers,

resembling S. Josike a.

Carpinus viminea.— Found in Nepal, Kamaon, and on Mus-
sooree, at an elevation of 6500 ft. (Royle Illust., vol. i. p. 343.)

Limonia Zauréola. Pl. As. Rar. t. 245.; Royle Illust. p. 130.
— The only plant of the family of the Aurantiaceze found on the
tops of cold and lofty mountains in the Himalayas, where it is
for some months of the year buried under snow.

Cotonedster bacillaris Wall. ined.; Lind]. Bot. Reg. No. 1229. ;
and Don’s Miller, vol. ii. p. 603.— Leaves obovate, drawn down
into the petiole, glabrous. Cymes many-flowered, divaricate, and,
as well as the branches, pilose. (G. Don.) A deciduous shrub
from Kamaon.

Eudnymus? crenulata Wall. Cat. 4297.

raised in the Chiswick Garden. 609

Ligtstrum? vestitum Wall. Cat. No. 6304.—Considered by some
as a variety of Z. spicatum, but with the thyrse more crowded,
and more densely hairy, as well as the young leaves, branchlets,
&c. (Don's Miller, vol. iv. p. 45.)

Il. Plants raised from Mewxican Seeds received from M. Hartweg.

Quércus Skinneri Benth.— A very remarkable species, having
the fruit of most unusual size, with the external appearance of
an acorn, and with the internal structure of a walnut. It is
described as a noble tree, from 50 ft. to 70 ft. high, occurring on
the slopes towards the Pacific, among the mountains of Aca-
tenango, Medio Monte, and Quezaltenango. (Gard. Chron.,
vol. i. p. 116.) The foliage and male flowers said to be precisely
as described and figured in Q. acutifolia Nees. [Q. acutifolia is
figured and described in our Ard. Brit., vol. iii. p.1947. It has
leaves cordate lanceolate, very finely pointed; beset on the
margin with large mucronate teeth; brownish beneath; tomentose
near the veins; and much more like those of a sweet chestnut
than of an oak.]

Rubus trilobus Moc. et Sess. Fl. Mexican. ined., Dec. Prod. 2.
p- 566., Don’s Mill. 2. p. 540., Plantae Hartweg. No. 456.—
Stem erect, branched, glabrous; branches, petioles, and peduncles
hispid. Leaves 3-lobed, unequally serrated, villous; lobes acute,
serrated, lateral ones diverging, middle one the longest; sti-
pules and bracteas lanceolate, villous. Flowers solitary at the
tops of the branches; calycine segments ovate, concave, spreading,
rather foliaceous and spatulate at the apex, longer than the
petals. Carpels numerous, subglobose. (Don’s Mill., vol. ii.
p: 540.) A shrub from Mexico, with large white flowers and
purple fruit.

Pinus odcarpéides Lind|.—A_ pine from Guatemala, with very
long slender leaves, five in a sheath, and cones about half the
size of those of P. odcarpa, of which it is probably a variety.

Polygonum volcanicum Benth., Plantee Hartwee. No. 562.—A
suffruticose species, with thick fleshy leaves, and flowers often
solitary. A native of Mexico, on the summit of the volcanic
mountain Xetuch, near Quezaltenango.

Arctostaphylos nitida Benth., Plantae Hartweg. No. 483. — An
erect shrub, with oblong-lanceolate acute leaves, smooth on both
sides and shining above. Native of the Carmen Mountains.

III. Plants raised from North-West American Seeds,

Ceanothus velutinus Douglas; Hook. Fl. Bor. Am. 1. p. 125.
t.45.; Torrey and Gray’s Flora, vol. i. p. 265.; and Arb. Brit.
abridged, p. 181. and fig. 274.— A shrub from 3 ft. to 8 ft. high,
with branches somewhat pendulous. Leaves orbicular, elliptical,
or elliptical ovate, obtuse, sub-cordate, glandularly crenate, ser-

RR 2

610 Flower-Garden at Esholt Hall, Yorkshire,

rulate; coriaceous, glabrous, and shining (as if varnished) above ;
velvety, canescent, and strongly 3-ribbed beneath. Panicles ax-
illary, elongated, on rather long peduncles. Found on_sub-
alpine hills near the sources of the Oregon, and at the Kettle
Falls. (Torrey and Gray.)

Art. IX. The Flower-Garden at Esholt Hall, Yorkshire, the Seat of
W. R. C. Stansfield, Esq., M.P. By J. Prinexe, late Gardener
there, now Gardener to the Right Honourable Lord Feversham,
Duncombe Park.

Esuortr Hatt, the seat of W. R. C. Stansfield, Esq., M.P., is

a regularly built stone edifice, having on three sides of the build-

ing an elevated terrace, enriched with vases, urns, &c., from

which a walk leads to the central entrance of the flower-garden,
which is the subject of the present communication. Part of the
garden I laid out in the year 1833, and completed it, according

to the plan herewith sent (fg. 55.), in 1837.

The ground is nearly on a level surface, with a slight inclina-
tion to the east, having a wall on the north side, 8 ft. high and
100 yards in length, against which are planted different varieties
of China roses, and various creepers and half-hardy shrubs.
On the east and west ends of the garden there is grass (not
shown on the plan for want of room) to the extent of the wall,
on which are planted hardy flowering shrubs, each shrub having
a circle dug round it proportionate to the size of the plant; and
these circles are chiefly planted with early flowering bulbs, as
crocus, snowdrop, narcissus, &c.

All the walks are gravelled, and the beds surrounded with
box, which is kept very low by frequent clipping. When the
garden was formed, drains were cut in different parts of the
ground 2 ft. below the surface, and the walks made from 1 ft. to
15 in. deep, and filled to within 3 in. of the surface with broken
stones or brick rubbish; each walk acting as a drain to the
adjoining bed. ‘There are small grates placed in the walks over
the main drains, which take away all the surface water, and
render the walks quite dry and firm to walk on in wet weather,
or after a shower of rain. ‘The soil was either entirely taken
out to the depth of 15 in., or mixed with compost suitable for
what was intended in each bed; and annually afterwards the
beds underwent a partial renewal of soil, to suit the change of
arrangement which I made with the greenhouse plants and
annuals; and, as I grew the dahlias every year in the same
places, I-took a quantity of soil entirely out where the plants
had grown, and replaced it with fresh compost every season.
Most of the beds have patches of bulbs, or low-growing early
flowering plants, planted about 6 in. from the box, and at regular -

the Seat of W. R. C. Stansfield, Esq., M.P. 611

distances, according to size; and in the following list these will
be named as edgings in the arrangement of each bed, which was
that adopted in 1837, and, I believe, gave entire satisfaction to
my then respected employers.

As I cannot sufficiently explain the planting of the beds
without causing confusion on the plan, I shall give some of the
beds on a larger scale, marking more particularly the system I

co)
have adopted in the general planting and arrangement of the

beds, which, from No.1 to No. 8, are all similarly arranged ;
therefore the bed No. 1 may serve as an example for the

whole.
e
1, a, Ponia arborea; b, Escallonia rubra, &c. ; c, crocuses, snowdrops, winter
aconite, dog’s-tooth violets, Scilla bifolia, &c., planted near to the edge of the
bed ; o bulbs ; + herbaceous plants.

Herbaceous plants, planted 1 ft.
from the edge of the bed ; with dif-
ferent species of Narcissus planted
close behind every fourth plant.

The herbaceous plants are from
1 ft. to 2 ft. in height, and are va-
ried as much in each bed as the
number of species in the collection
would allow. ;

Some may think that the beds would be crowded with plants, but such
has not been the case, as the bulbs have chiefly done flowering before the
herbaceous plants have made much growth, and the herbaceous plants are
nearly all over before the dahlias are in full bloom; which arrangement has
insured a succession of flowers from the first fine weather in spring until the
frosts kill the dahlias in autumn.

9, 10, 1], and 12 are severally planted with moss,
perpetual, and select deciduous roses, marked r ;
-and different varieties of herbaceous pzonies,
marked p ; with three patches of white lily marked

J, in each bed.
9 is edged with Primula farindsa and Gentiana

Fig. 53. Beds from No. 1. to No. 8.

septemfida. Fig. 54. Beds from No.9. to 12.
10, Edged with Gentiana acailis. j
11, ditto, ditto. 12, Edged with double primroses.

As soon as the pzonies have done flowering, China aster or Russian
stocks are planted in front of each pzeony for an autumnal bloom.

13, Common China roses, edged with Auricula, of varieties.

14, Noisette roses, trained on a flat trellis, and edged with Eranthis hyemalis.

15, Common China roses, edged with Hepatica, of varieties.

16, Noisette roses, on a flat trellis, and edged with Muscari botryoides.

17, Azalea péntica globosa in the centre, with Galanthus nivalis around the
plant ; then a circle of Mimulus roseus, and the bed edged with alpime
auriculas.

18, Kalmia latifolia in the centre, surrounded with crocuses, and edged with
double primrose, and planted with Lobelia gracilis for the summer.

19, Similar to No. 17, with Lobelia gracilis for summer.

20, Similar to No. 18, with Verbena Meléndris for summer.

The beds from 21 to 28 are all edged with different varieties of Crocus and
heartsease alternately, and were planted for summer flowering as follows :—

21, Scarlet geraniums. 22, SAlvia Graham and angustifolia.

RR 3

612 Flower-Garden at Esholt Hall, Yorkshire,

AXEL

a NU

ote
i

ff
Ohh

Fig. 55 Flower-Garden at Esholt Hall.

the Seat of W. R. C. Stansfield, Esq., M.P. 613

23, Petimia nyctaginiflora. 26, Nierembérgia pheenicea grandiflora.
24, Salvia fulgens. 27, Lobéla falgens.
25, Mimulus cardinalis. 28, Shrubby calceolarias.

29, Rosa minor, edged with Hepatica, and sown with Gilia tricolor.

30, Dark China roses, edged with Saxtfraga granulita, and sown with Kaul_
fassia amelloides. 5

31, Select China roses, edged with Saxifraga granulata,
and sown with Collinsia bicolor.

32, Tea-scented roses, edged with Hepatica, and sown
with Nemophila insignis. Fig. 56. Beds from No. 21.

33, Choice tulips and German asters. 2 sais Hee a Dahlias.

34, Double tulips and Chryséis crocea.

35, Double anemones and Lasthénia glabrata.

36, Double anemones and German asters.

37, Edged with choice heartsease and mixed choice pelargoniums.

38, Ditto, ditto.
39, Edged with choice heartsease and mixed greenhouse plants.
40, Ditto, ditto.

41, Jonquils and Alonsoa linearis.

42, Raninculus and Heliotropium peruvianum.

43, Jonquils and Nierembérgia gracilis.

44, Ranunculus and Calceolaria penduliflora.

45, f, A fuchsia in each bed, surrounded with a circle of Erdnthis hyemalis ;
and, nearer the margin, a circle of dwarf
larkspurs; 0, patches ofdnemone Pulsatil-
Ja,apennina, and other species; /, patches
of different varieties of martagon lilies.
d, dahlias for summer and autumn
bloom.

49, Bulbous J‘ris, and Agatheze’a cceléstis.

50, Bulbous J'ris, and Senécio élegans fl. pl.

51, Tigridia pavonia, edged with Campanula pumila.

52, Gladiolus psittacinus, edged with Campanula pumila,

53, American plants, edged with double primroses.

54, Ditto, ditto.

55, Azalea coccinea, edged with Gaulthéria procimbens.

56, Azalea coccinea, edged with Gaulthéria Shdllon.

57, Rhododéndron pénticum, edged with Helianthemum of var.

58, Rhododéndron pénticum, edged with Erica herbacea.

59 and 60, Tazza vases, which serve as dropping fountains during winter, and
in the summer season with the jets, &c. of the late Mr. Rowland.

61, Seats. 62, Sundial. 63, Statues.

64, Vases, which are all elevated on stone plinths, proportionate to the

size of the vase, and are filled with flowering plants during the summer
season.

Ze Gh b
i Caries

Fig. 57. Beds from No. 45. to No. 48.

Having extended the present communication to a greater
length than I at first intended, I shall only briefly remark that
every attention is paid to tying up each plant as required to one,
two, or more stakes; pegging down to the ground, or training
them in whatever way is most suitable to the habits of the plant;
cutting out all decayed flowers that have done blooming; and
keeping the whole of the garden in as much order and neatness
as possible.

Lsholt Hall, August, 1838.
RR 4

614 Pomological Notices.

Art. X. Pomological Notices; or Notices of New Fruits, and
Culinary Vegetables, which have been proved in the Horticultural
Society's Gardens to be worthy of general Cultivation, since the
last Report given in the ‘ Gardener's Magazine” for 1837. By
Rozert Tuompson, Superintendant of the Fruit Department in
the Garden ; by Permission of the Council of the Society.

THE varieties of fruits known to possess first-rate excellence are
so numerous, that only those of extraordinary merit require to
be now brought into notice. Many new varieties might be
mentioned as being good, but those superior are butfew. The
Dunmore pear is of large size and excellent quality, its season
preceding that of the Marie Louise. Groom’s Princess Royal
pear is of middle size, roundish shape, melting, and valuable on
account of its keeping till March. ‘The Ickworth Impératrice plum
is somewhat larger than the old Impératrice, of a purple colour,
beautifully traced with a profusion of golden-brown lines; the
flesh is rich, and the fruit possesses the property of keeping
long fresh, and ultimately becoming like a prune, when placed
in a dry situation. The Walburton Admirable peach resembles
in appearance the Late Admirable, but it ripens better in bad
seasons like the present. Wilmot’s new Hamburgh grape pro-
duces larger fruit than the Black Hamburgh, and has, in conse-
quence, a noble appearance ; but its flavour is said not to equal
that of the Black Hamburgh. Several new strawberries have
been brought into notice, amongst which Myatt’s British Queen
is likely to take the lead. It is of very large size, roundish and
rather flattened in form, and of good flavour considering its
large size. Myatt’s Eliza, Newsom’s Princess Royal, Wilmot’s
Victoria, Swainston seedling, and the Bishopswick strawberry,
are other new varieties considered worthy of cultivation; as are
also the Victoria raspberry and Cox’s Honey raspberry.

A collection of fruit trees has been received by the Horti-
cultural Society, from Mr. Barker of Suedia, in Syria, consist-
ing of peaches, nectarines, apricots, and the dwarf apple of
Armenia. ‘The latter is said to grow to not half the size of the
dwarfest European varieties; and some of the stone fruits are
described as having sweet kernels. Such of the above as were
alive on their arrival have done well; but the greater part were
dead, in consequence of having been long packed and dried up
during an indirect passage.

Amongst kitchen-garden vegetables, Marshal’s Dwarf Pro-
lific bean deserves recommendation : it is earlier and more pro-
lific than the Early Mazagan. The Milford Marrow pea is
a very abundant bearer; the peas are unusually large, and,
at the same time, of a green colour. ‘The most unique addition
to the culinary department is the O’xalis Déppez, which is

Rioot-Pruning of Fruit Trees. 615

capable of being grown in rich sandy soil, so as to produce
good-sized roots, delicate when cooked.

Art. XI. On Root-Pruning Fruit Trees ; with some Remarks on the
blossoming Principle, more especially in Chrysanthemums. By Ro-
BERT ERRINGTON.

I szz, by some of the horticultural periodicals, that the gar-
dening world has at last become alive to the utility of root-
pruning fruit trees in cases of over-luxuriance. The merit of
the invention is claimed, I perceive, by or for Mr. Rivers of Saw-
bridgeworth. Now, on referring to the Gardener’s Magazine,
for Dec. 1830, p.693., a paper will be found by me on the sub-
ject at that early period. I have not any very particular anxiety
as to who may gain the merit, not of the invention, but the ap- ©
plication of it generally ; yet, as I rather love fair play, I should
like the “ saddle on the right horse,” if possible. I have vol. ii.
2d series of the Hort. Transactions now before me, in which, at
page 471., is an article by Mr. Rivers, in which he says “ it is
about ten years since he attempted the thing.” Now, whether
he had seen my paper or not, I cannot say, but the plan has now
assumed the title of Mr. “ Rivers’s system.” I can only say
_that I have pursued the plan systematically ever since, and can
bear ample testimony to the propriety, not to say necessity, of
the plan. Shallow planting, which I call the fundamental prin-
ciple of acclimatising, in original maiden loams, will in a great
degree prevent the necessity of root-pruning; but many cases
will arise in moist seasons and coo] summers which will call for
that process. It is quite evident to me, that if we cannot furnish
the necessary degree of heat, and more especially of solar light,
we must in proportion abstain from the use of stimulating ma-
nures.

We are so far scientific that we can measure and apportion
our heat in-doors by our thermometers, but, with regard to at-
mospheric moisture and light, we continue to grope in the dark.
It is true we cannot command light, but we can regulate the
supply of food in proportion to the light. In many plants it ap-
pears necessary that the growing principle become almost station-
ary for a time, in order to induce the principle of fructification.
As an instance of this, I would adduce the various fruit trees,
the pine-apple, and the Chinese chrysanthemum, with a multitude
of others. I have some tender Flemish pears, which a few years
since lost the points of the young shoots every autumn; they
went black, and shriveled. This I attributed to a late supply of
immature wood. In some I bent the branches down, in others
I cut the roots, and both plans produced the desired effects, in-
asmuch as they induced an earlier period of rest. But for a

616 Vegetable Physiology.

complete remedy we should go to the fountain head ; plant shallow
in pure maiden loams, and reserve the manures for our celery
and cabbages, where it can scarcely be misapplied. Those who
adopt this mode will scarcely know what the mildew in peaches
means. I plant all my wall trees on a substratum of bricks or
stones, allowing only 9 in. of soil above the bricks, and the roots
immediately in contact with the bricks.

TheChinese chrysanthemum hasalways struck me as a remark-
able plant, and calculated to throw much light on the blossoming
principle, if subjected to a series of experiments. This plant,
it is well known, does not form a blossom bud, under the usual
modes of cultivation, until the cold nights of autumn commence.
Yet after the bud is once formed, a gentle warmth of from 58°
to 65° seems very desirable to get the blossoms to expand freely.
Now, what we call unequal, irregular, or inclement, seasons
tend to produce the blossoming principle in no small degree in
many plants; especially periods of extreme drought, or sudden
declension of atmospheric heat after a hot period, together with
perhaps an increased degree of solar light. The “ buttoning ”
of the cauliflower has plagued many a gardener: and here, the
plant having been imprudently planted too early, and in too rich
a soil, is kept through the winter in the close atmosphere of a
frame, from which it is transferred in a gouty or plethoric state,
and what we gardeners term “ drawn,” to the open ground, to
face a March wind and sun; the consequence, of course, is, that
the growing principle is suddenly arrested, and the premature
formation of a blossom is produced. A humid and shady atmo-
sphere like that of Britain, as compared with our more favoured
neighbours with their bright skies and perhaps elevated tracts
of country, may well be expected to produce cases similar to
*‘ drawing.” Observe the potato growing in close and rich gar-
dens, and mark the same kind in fresh maiden unmanured soils,
in elevated tracts of farming lands; who would believe it to be
the same kind, unless practically acquainted with these facts ?

Oulton Park, near Tarporley, Cheshire,

November, 1841.

REVIEWS.

Art.I. Vegetable Physiology ; being Part of a Popular Cyclopedia
of Natural Science. London, 8vo. 1841.

WE noticed this work in p. 327., and the following is a more detailed account
of it by our correspondent J. M., of whose extensive knowledge of the subject
most of our readers are aware.

“ As a means of intellectual discipline, as stated in the Prospectus, the study
of natural science is perhaps second to none; it has the advantage of in-
teresting the pupil much more than the greater part of the ordinary routine

Vegetable Physiology. 617

of instruction, and will tend to increase his desire for the attainment of
valuable knowledge of any description. No works at present before the
public appear to be altogether suitable to this purpose, the greater number of
strictly elementary treatises on natural science being little else than abridge-
ments of larger works, so that they are much behind the present state of
science, and are for the most part but inaccurate copies of one another,
executed in a mechanical spirit, and destitute of the striking novelties which
scientific research is constantly bringing into view.”

To avoid this defect in the present undertaking, the publishers have em-
ployed a compiler of very high talent to bring forth a series of distinct
treatises on the different branches of natural science, and which they trust
will be found worthy of the patronage of the general reader, and particularly
of the young, who may be desirous of acquiring a competent knowledge of
those useful and delightful studies.

The authorities whence the compiler has drawn the facts and representations
on which he founds his own opinions and statements, and which he recom-
mends as corroborative of his own views, are Lindley, Henslow, Carpenter,
DeCandolle and Professor Meyen: relative to the food of plants, he follows
Liebig and Lindley. The author, however, is by no means a servile follower :
the manner in which he applies the doctrines of the above authors is not
without a good deal of creditable discrimination, for where he finds assertions
unaccompanied with proof he does not fail, by praiseworthy candour, to show
that he is treading on questionable ground.

He commences his descriptions of vegetable phenomena at the lowest
point, namely, with an account of what is called the red snow of the arctic
regions, one of the most minute and simple productions of the vegetable
kingdom. Thence he ascends through the various grades of microscopic and
cryptogamic vegetation, showing the manner of their reproduction and growth
with the clearest and most satisfactory precision, obtainable only from
direct ocular demonstration. With the same precision he describes the
mosses, liverworts, lichens, A’lge, Fungi, &c. ; all of which‘is highly interesting,
especially as his descriptions are enriched by many valuable collateral remarks
and observations.

Among the many fruits of his industry and judgement evinced in the se-
lections he has made from other writers, it would be strange indeed if he did
not convey a little of the dross along with the pure metal of some of his
authorities. For instance, he says that roots are destitute of buds, which is
by no means generally the case. The longitudinal partitions of the wood,
commonly called medullary rays, he says are divergent from the pith, whereas
they are convergent to that member, as if they proceeded from the bark. The
manner of the annual enlargement of an exogenous stem is, however, beau-
tifully and faithfully described ; and it is not till he comes to explain how the
cambium is changed into wood, that he begins to falter in his statements by
adopting the opinions of others rather than his own. “ At the end of spring,”
he says, “the bark becomes loosened from the wood, and a glutinous fluid,
termed the cambium, is found between them. This is gradually organised
into cells, and from these are formed the ducts and cellular portion of the
woody layer and of the cellular portion of the layer of bark. Later in the
year, the woody tubes grow downwards from the leaves, obtaining nourishment
from the fluid portion of the cambium as they descend, and at last partly
uniting themselves with the vessels, &c., of the new woody layer, and in
smaller proportion with the tissue of the bark.”

Now, the above passage should have been rendered thus: — At the be-
ginning of spring the bark is raised from the wood by the swelling cambium ;
which, in the course of the summer, is matured into the various parts of cells,
woody fibre, tubes, &c., of which it rudimentally consists, ultimately forming
the new layers of wood and liber. During its change from the glutinous to
the mature state, it, together with the recently formed layers of alburnum and
liber, constitutes the chief ducts for the ascending sap, from which it is

618 Vegetable Physiology.

distributed to every tissue to which it has access, as well as to the leaves ;
which last, from their perspiring functions, attract a very large share, and
cause special ducts to be formed for their supply, which ducts are as-
cending, not descending, tubes. For, if we can conceive that any fibrous or
tubular constituents of the stem have a downward rather than an upward
developement, we reverse the very principle of aérial growth, and deny the
result of every experiment which has been made to ascertain such processes
of vegetable accretion. Our anonymous author, indeed, is too complaisant in
adopting the opinions of those who fancy they can see buds, leaves, and even
grafts, “‘ sending down” vessels or fibres into the stem on which they grow, or
into the stock on which they are placed. He guards himself, however, in a
general way, against giving full credence to descriptions of whatever is said to
take place in the interior of a stem, movements which never have been, nor
possibly can be, seen ; and yet he is sometimes misled by such representations.
As one instance, his 140th paragraph may be transcribed, viz. “It is in the
vessels and woody tubes of the alburnum that the fluid absorbed by the roots
is transmitted to the opposite extremity of the stem, and these vessels com-
municate with those of the leaves, which receive it from them. In the liber,
on the other hand, the fluid which has been converted in the leaves into
nutritious sap descends again through the trunk for the purpose of nourishing
its different parts. Of this descending sap a part is carried inwards by the
medullary rays, which thus diffuse it through the whole stem, as also through
the substance of the roots, down which it is conveyed by their bark. In this
descent it mixes with the ascending current, especially at its lower part ; and,
beimg much superior in density, it adds to the density of that fluid, and thus
maintains the condition requisite for endosmose” (that principle by which the
watery fluids in the soil are attracted through the spongioles of the roots to
mix with the thicker fluids in the stem). ‘ The vessels,” he continues, “ down
which the sap moves in the bark are of the branching character described as
peculiar to those which convey the nutritious fluid. They form a complete
network, in which the fluid may be seen to move in various directions. For
this motion no definite cause can be assigned. It does not depend on any
impulse from above, corresponding to that action of the roots which raises
sap in the stem, for there is no power in the leaves to give any such force. It
has been supposed to depend upon the gravity of the fluid, which will cause it
to descend simply by its own weight; but, if that were the case, it would not
ascend, as it often does, on the bark of the hanging branches of such trees as
the weeping ash or willow. It is only one, however, of numerous cases in
which a movement of nutritious fluid through channels in the solid parts it
supplies takes place without any evident cause.”

This is, at least, a very candid admission, because the whole doctrine of the
descent of the sap is still far from being clearly established. It has, indeed,
been declared by persons of undoubted veracity, that the counter currents of the
crude and elaborated sap may be seen in the almost transparent petioles of
certain leaves. Thus much we are bound to believe ; but, as our keenest
observation carries us no further than the base of the petiole, we can only
imagine its subsequent distribution, having no means of proving whether it
retires by the bark or by the alburnum; more especially as we know that the
richest sap is always found by tapping, not at the bottom, but at the top of the
tree.

Speaking of endogens, particularly palms, he says, truly, that the stems are
formed by the persisting bases of the leaves; but he has been misled by
others into a belief that the youngest leaves are formed at the top of the stem,
and that the woody bundle which connect them with the system “ passes
downwards in the softest part of the stem, which is its interior; but after pro-
ceeding for some distance in this manner it turns outward, and interlaces itself
with those which were previously formed.” Unfortunately for our author’s
teachers, the very reverse of this is the fact: the fibrous constituents of each
leaf or frond originate at different depths in the interior of the stem, whence

Vegetable Physiology. 619

they ascend till they gain the air, when they suddenly turn outwards, to allow
of nearly horizontal expansion.

Having said so much of the downward motions of the sap and of woody
bundles to form both wood and roots, he adds what he considers decisive
proof, by instancing the effects of strangulation of a stem or branch of an exo-
genous tree. A band, he says, “ will offer little impediment to the ascent of the
sap from the roots, but it will obstruct any descent. In consequence, there
will be a deficiency of the leaf-elaborated nourishment to the parts beneath,
and a superfluity above the band ; so that a protuberance will arise from the
stem just at the point where the downward flow cf the sap is checked. This
protuberance will increase in progress of years, if the tree survives, so as
almost to bury the band beneath it; but most commonly the tree is destroyed,
ere long, by the insufficient supply of nourishment to the roots.” The author
also alludes to the well-known effect produced by the constriction of a twining
shoot of the honeysuckle around a stem of any exogenous plant, which ob-
structs, rather than prevents, the descent of the sap, by vausing a spiral ridge to
be formed above the whole length of the embracing shoot.

Different effects are produced by different descriptions of ligatures: if metal
wire be used singly, the swellings on each side are nearly equal, and very soon
cover the wire ; if a common woollen shred be used, the protuberance is
largest on the upper side; and if a plurality of bands of common twine be
tightly tied on a stem, at short distances from each other, swollen rings will
be produced on the spaces between the ties. From all such experiments, it is
perfectly evident that the cambium, or living membrane of the tree, is only
struggling to get free from the compressive action of the bands, and, of course,
forms those protuberances so visible on strangulated or ringed stems. The
author avows that “ the cambium is gradually organised into cells, and from
these are formed the ducts and cellular portion of the woody layer ;” and he
might have added, with great truth, all the tubes and vessels ever found as
belonging to perfect alburnum and liber. The gradual growth of all these
components exhibiting exogenous expansion, requiring space laterally, must be
deranged by any resisting band or unyielding body applied by art or accident
to the exterior.

It is perfectly true that the protuberances above a band are not easily
explained, unless we admit that there is a descent of some constituent of the
system ; that is, either organisable sap or fibrous processes from the superior
parts, either leaves or buds. In seeking information on this point, by cutting
into those protuberances, we find neither accumulations of proper or elabo-
rated juice, nor any unusual assemblage of contorted fibres, as we might be led
to expect. The interior of these swellings is of similar character to the other
parts of the living cambium, and remains of the same alburnous texture after
the growth ceases in the autumn ; only with this difference, the cellular parts
are more extended laterally, which, indeed, is the cause of the protuberance.

The descent of the sap is a very old idea; not only the elaborated sap, as
stated by our author and others, but the whole body of the juices of the tree,
which, it was supposed, retreated to the roots in winter. This doctrine, I
believe, was held by Buffon, and it was confirmed by the experiments of the
late Mr. T. A. Knight, who could not otherwise account for the swelling
above a ligature. The notion, that woody fibres or actual roots descended
from the buds or foliage, was first suggested by Darwin, and afterwards by Du
Petit Thouars, and is now adopted by most modern professional botanists
and a great majority of gardeners, though positively denied by the late Mr.
Knight, who, in speaking of a grafted tree, declared (what is well known to be
a fact) that not a particle of the graft ever descended below the place of junc-
tion with the stock. Practical gardeners, however, are rarely guided by the
physiologist’s notions relative to the functions of the leaves, the buds, or
superior parts of the tree, as sources of elaborated sap, or as productive of
alburnous matter, trusting more to the agency of the roots than to that of
the foliage. This is particularly evident in their management of the grape-

620 Jamin’s Catalogue raisonné

vine, and several other fruit-bearing plants. Instead of preserving all these
elaborating organs, they divest the tree of the greater number, not only the
laterals, but also the points of the fruit-bearing shoots, lest the fruit should be
impoverished, and the wood intended to bear the next year’s crop diminished,
and rendered less fertile. Melon plants are raised and managed so as to pro-
duce one large fruit, and when this fairly set on a branch, all the other branches
are pruned off, and that bearing the fruit is not only stopped, but is deprived
of most of its leaves. Larger fruit are obtained from several other plants by
relieving them of their summer shoots. This dismemberment of a plant, by
robbing it of the organs by which it is said to be chiefly fed, is directly contrary
to the opinions of the generality of modern physiologists ; and, though their
ideas respecting the functions of the leaves are peculiarly applicable to herb-
aceous plants in general, there are many exceptions relative to them, as well as
among shrubs and trees, some of the latter presenting the anomaly, that the
more they are pruned the more vigorous they grow.

These practical facts are mentioned to show that, with regard to the grape-
vine, currant, gooseberry, melon, &c., cultivated for their fruit rather than for
their bulk of stem or branches, there does not appear to be any absolute
necessity for a downward flow of either vascular processes or of elaborated
sap; for, notwithstanding the manager divests the plant of a great portion of
its food-supplying members, he is not disappointed in his main object ; and
therefore concludes that a very moderate supply (granting that there is any
such supply) answers his purpose as well, if not better, than if the plant had
been left entire, and in fullest expansion.

It is a pity, perhaps, that our author did not exercise a little more of his
own judgement in these particulars, and had not followed those writers whom
he has chosen as his guides so closely. For it is impossible that a person of
his philosophical turn of mind could examine what has been written concern-
ing the ascent and descent of the sap, the production of woody fibres or
vessels from the leaves, and the various and contrary forces or attractions
which such phenomena must require, without feeling the difficulty of even
conceiving how such circumstances can take place. It is a part of his subject
which would have been well worth his closest investigation, before he had been
called on to have furnished the present volume.

Respecting the ascent of the sap, our author embraces the idea of Du-
trochet, that it is inducted by endosmose, and that the roots are capable of
taking up coloured fluids. He adopts Professor De Candolle’s belief respect-
ing the excretory powers of vegetables, as well as his system of physiology in
general, and likewise his morphology. This agreement with the botanical
leaders of the day will gain popularity for the work ; but it is evident that, if
he had had more practical knowledge of the subject, and had used his own,
instead of the eyes, or rather the conceptions, of others, he would have com-
posed a more respectable book: and yet, notwithstanding, it is an entertaining
and well written volume, and creditable to the author, whoever he may be.—
J. iM, Brompton, Oct. 1841.

Art. IL. Catalogue raisonné des Arbres Fruitiers cultivés dans les
Pépiniéres De Jamin (Jean-Laurent), Fleuriste et Pépinieriste,
Membre de la Société Royale d’ Horticulture de Paris, Rue de
Buffon, 19. 4to, pp. 24. Paris, 1838.

Tue following is an extract from the introductory observations : —

“ Soil. — I observe, first, that fruit trees with stone fruit are less particular
with respect to soil than kernel fruits ; and the reason that we plant our peach
trees in a rich soil is, because we prune them every year, and force them to
produce more new branches and larger fruit than they would produce natu-

des Arbres Fruitiers. 621

rally. As a general rule, kernel fruit trees require a deep and substantial soil,
while stone fruit succeeds well with a lighter soil, either calcareous or sili-
ceous. However good the surface of the soil we are going to plant may
appear, we must always sound it to find out its depth, and the subsoil on
which it rests. To grow fruit trees with success, it is essential that the good
soil should not be less than 3 ft. thick for kernel fruit, and from 15 in. to
20 in. for stone fruit, whether the soil is naturally of that depth or rendered
so by art. The best subsoil is a gravelly one, or sandy, to allow the water to
sink into it easily; the worst is a spongy or clayey soil, which prevents the
water from penetrating it. In this last case, if the surface of the soil has not
a sufficient slope, the lower roots of the trees, soon finding a stagnation of
moisture, suffer, become sickly, and finally die.

“When we set about planting, we have in view to place the trees either
where there are none, or to put good ones in the place of those that are bad,
worn out, or dead. In the first instance, if the soil is naturally good and
sufficiently deep, the expense will be trifling; but, in the second case, it is
indispensable to remove the old soil in which the trees grew, and to replace it
with fresh mould for the new trees.

“ There are two ways of opening the soil for the reception of trees: the
first, more common than the other, on account of its economy, consists in
making a hole for each tree to receive its roots ; the second, more expensive,
but better, consists in opening a trench the whole length of the row of trees
to be planted. I add a few words on these two methods.

Holes.—When the soil is of a good quality, and rests on a good subsoil,
it is customary_to make square holes, 4 ft. on each of the sides, and 3 ft. deep,
to lay the upper strata, which are usually the best soil, on one of the sides of
the hole, and the lower strata, which are usually not so good, on the other
side. If the holes could be made some months, or long before planting, the
soil would be improved by the influence of the atmosphere. On planting, the
hole is filled half full of the earth from the upper layers ; if some pieces of
turf could be procured, and put at the bottom of the hole upside down, the
operation would be more perfect. When the good soil is less than 3 ft. thick,
and when the subsoil is spongy or clayey, the holes ought not to be made so
deep, but wider by a third, and even double the width, that the roots may
have greater facility in spreading horizontally, than in descending perpen-
dicularly.

© Trenches.— When expense is not regarded in making a plantation, trenches
are dug, 6 ft. broad and 3 ft. deep, in the direction of the rows of trees to be
planted, throwing the upper earth on one side of the trench, and the lower
earth on the other side; and, when planting commences, the upper or best
earth is thrown into the bottom of the trench. On digging these holes or
trenches, if the soil is found not to be sufficiently good, some of the soil
known to be very good must be mixed with it, in sufficient quantity, whether
a half, a third, or a fourth part; but, if the soil in the hole or trench is abso-
lutely bad, it must be removed, and replaced by good soil. Two thirds of
good arable soil and a third of meadow soil, well mixed, usually form an excel-
lent soil for fruit trees. The cleanings out of ponds and the sweepings of the
streets, thoroughly rotted and mixed with a middling soil, renders it fit for
fruit trees. Turf, heaped up in large piles, becomes, in time, a very good soil
for them also; or the ground may be improved or enriched by manure tho-
roughly decayed. \

“ Good authors advise never to open a tufous or clayey subsoil, even wher
it is 1 ft. or 6 in. below the surface, and yet the worse it is the more it is
dug up in the usual routine ; but a great evil ensues, which I must warn pro-
prietors of. After a hole has been made, 4 ft. square and 3 ft. deep, in the
tufa or clay, filled with good soil, and a tree planted in it, this tree may grow
tolerably, or even very well for some years; but it will soon find itself
cramped, as if in a box : its roots, not being able to spread in search of new
nourishment, suffer, and the tree becomes sickly.

’
622 Jamin’s Catalogue raisonné

“When a bad subsoil is found near the surface of the earth, instead of
breaking it up, we must, on the contrary, cover it with a thicker layer of good
mould, in order that the roots of the trees may not reach it ; plant near the
surface; and cover the roots properly with an addition of good soil, which is
to be spread out so as to slope gradually for two or three yards round the
tree. The same method may be pursued if the bottom of the soil is watery
or rotten, unless it is considered preferable to drain it by stones or furrows.

“A light and at the same time a substantial soil is the best for fruit trees:
when too stiff, it is improved by a mixture of sandy soil; and a sandy soil is
improved by mixing it with a stiff one. Cow-dung is suitable for light soils,
and horse and sheep dung for strong soils.

“* Planting.—The first thing to be done in planting is to see that the bottom
of the whole contains at least from 12in. to 15 in. of good soil, well broken,
on which the roots may be placed with confidence. This being ascertained, the
next thing is to dress the roots of the tree; that is to say, the tips of the roots
are trimmed, and any injured ones cut off: the less the healthy roots are cut,
the better the operation has been performed. A man then takes the tree, puts
it in the place it is intended to occupy, spreads its roots as horizontally as
possible on the mould previously thrown into the hole, and holds it in an up-
right position, while another man, provided with a spade or a shovel, throws
earth well, broken, and of good quality, on the roots and in the interstices.
When sufficient earth has been put to enable the tree to stand perpendicularly,
you take hold of it with both hands near the bottom of the stem, and shake
it to allow the fine mould to penetrate between its roots, and to bring the
graft on a level with the soil; the mould is slightly pressed, the hole is then
entirely filled up, and a small concavity or basin is formed round the tree, to
expose the graft, and for the convenience of watering the tree if required.
The graft may be 1 or 2 inches below the level of the soil in a dry or light
soil, while it ought to be from 1 in. to 3 in. above it in a strong or damp soil.

“ Planting being completed, it is of great advantage to put litter at the root
of each tree, that is to say, to cover the earth round their roots, to the depth
of 1 or 2 inches with short dung, leaves, or dried plants ; it preserves moisture,
and prevents the evaporation from watering, if that should be found to be
necessary.

“ Time of Planting.— Planting may be carried on from November to April,
when not prevented by frost or heavy rains; the rule is, to plant early in dry
and light soils, and as late as possible in strong, cold, and damp ones. After
late planting, it is more particularly necessary to pour a watering-potful or two
at the root of each tree, and cover it with litter.

“If a package of trees is received in a severe frost, it must not be undone,
but laid in some sheltered place where it does not freeze, and not unpacked
till the weather becomes mild. When, at the time of planting, in March or
April, the roots of a tree that has come from a distance appear somewhat
dry, they.must be soaked in a pail or tub of water for an hour or two, and
planted before they are dry again. ; 5

“ First Cares necessary for a newly planted Tree.—In planting, it is determined
beforehand whether the tree is to have a stem bearing a head freely exposed
to the air, in this case a tree has been selected that was trained for the
purpose; or a tree is required to be in the form of a pyramid or distaff, the
nurseryman supplies trees having a tendency to this form also; or a dwarf
tree is wanted to be trained as a bush or a fan. Here follow a few words on
each form.

“ A tall-stemmed Tree (U Arbre tige).—It often happens that, in planting a
tree with a tall stem, the head is cut at the same time that the roots are
dressed, that it may not be liable to be shaken afterwards; it also sometimes
happens that reasons prevent this operation taking place till the flowing of
the sap. However this may be, the operation consists in leaving on the
head of the tree three, or rarely four, of the finest and best situated branches
to form the members of the new head, in cutting them at a good bud, at the

des Arbres Fruttiers. 623

length of from 3in. to Gin. and cutting off all the rest. If what is called
a trained tree (arbre formé) is wanted, the planting and first pruning would
require details which I cannot enter into in this brief notice.

“The Distaff Form (la Quenouille).— It must be owned, that few distaffs
are well trained ; in most nurseries they are made to grow tall too quickly,
and their base becomes bare. There is a certain method of forcing them
to feather again at any age, but the explanation would be too long. I must
confine myself to informing proprietors, that, when a distaff is bare at the
base, the shaft (fléche) must be cut very short, the strong upper branches cut
off, and the lower ones pruned at an under bud (sous-ceil).

“The Dwarf Tree.— It is usually trees that have been grafted for one or
two years near the ground, and which are cut down to 6 or 8 inches
from the graft, that are formed into dwarf trees, either as a bush or espalier.
In the first case, when the lateral buds are developed, the three or four best
situated are selected, and the others removed ; in the second case, those are
removed that are developed before and behind, and only one or two are
retained on each side to form the limbs of the espalier ; but, for a pear tree to
be trained as an espalier, it is much better to take quenouilles that have been
grafted two or three years, and in a vigorous state, which gives an advantage
of at least two years over dwarf trees.

“ There is another excellent form that may be given to an espalier, namely,
the fan (palmette). It is easily formed with a good quenouille, well provided
with lateral branches, those behind and before being cut away ; if it is not
well clothed, it is cut down to I or 2 feet, and, by judicious pruning, it is
made to throw out branches at the sides.

“ The Apple Tree as a Quenouille, grafted on a Paradise Stock. — This shape
is very little in use; the sap having more branches to nourish than in those
forming a bush, prevents the fruit from becoming so large, but the tree pro-
duces more : besides, its pyramidal form is more agreeable.

“These trees require to be grown from the strongest and best situated
branch, which must be shortened down to a good bud, 6 or 8 inches
above the graft. Every year the lateral branches should be cut very short,
as well as the stem. Apple trees may be raised on paradise stocks, in the
form of a pyramid of from 4 ft. to 6 ft. in height, in a good soil, and well
trained by judicious pruning.

“ Currant trees may also be trained in this form; they have a very good
effect, and produce much more fruit than when grown as bushes.

“ T think it essential to notice a false operation too much in use with kernel
fruit trees, which, according to the usual routine, takes place in the months of
August and September. It is that of shortening the shoots or branches two
thirds, or often three quarters of their length. This practice is injurious to
the trees, inasmuch as it destroys a great quantity of leaves capable of
digesting the food of the plant, and strengthening the roots; this pruning,
also, forces the sap into the fruit branches, and changes their destination by
making them throw out wood instead of fruit. : :

“It is the interest of the proprietor, therefore, to prevent this being done,
which is absolutely detrimental to their trees ; but I recommend the practice
of disbudding (?ebourgeonnage en vert), which is usually performed in the
spring, in the course of the month of May ; however, as it frequently happens
that the gardener at this period is overwhelmed with work, and cannot do
every thing himself, pruning does not take place at this season, which is
a disadvantage to the fructification, the shape, and preservation of the trees ;
it is the interest of proprietors, therefore, to provide assistants to their
gardener, that he may have time himself to perform the operation of dis-
budding. This operation is the more necessary, as it avoids wounds, and
lessens the labour of pruning. sakes

“I confine myself to these observations, in order not to exceed the limits I
had proposed ; and, for further details, I refer my readers to the excellent
work of M. Dalbret, Cows théorique et pratique de la Taille des Arbres Fruitiers,

1841.— XII. 3d Ser. ss

624 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c.

- 2me ed., 1837; in which will be found all the required information, and the
best principles, illustrated by numerous examples.”

Art. Ill. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany,
Rural Architecture, &c., lately published, with some Account of those
considered the more interesting.

CoMPANION to Goldsmith's Animated Nature. Illustrated by several Hundred
Engravings on Wood and Steel. A History of the Vegetable Kingdom ; em-
bracing the Physiology, Classification, and Culture of Plants, with their various
Uses to Man and the lower Animals ; and their Application in the Arts, Ma-
nufactures, and Domestic Economy. By William Rhind, Member of the
Royal College of Surgeons; of the Royal Medical Society, Edmburgh ;
Author of “ Elements of Geology,” ‘“ A Catechism of Botany,” &c. Parts
IV., V., and VI. Royal 8vo. London and Glasgow, 1841. 2s. each.

We noticed Parts I. to III. in p. 228., and those now before us justify the
favourable opinion which we have expressed of the work.

The Phytologist, a Botanical Journal; in monthly numbers; 8yo. 6d. each.
Nos. I. and II. for June and July.

This periodical will be received with delight by the botanist, more especially
when we mention that its editor is the amiable, intelligent, and enthusiastic
author of the History of British Ferns, Mr. Edward Newman.

The Eastern Arboretum; or Rural Register of all the remarkable Trees, Seats,
Gardens, $c. in the County of Norfolk. By James Grigor. Illustrated by
drawings of trees etched on copper. Numbers XIII. to XV. 8yo.
London and Norwich.

The numbers before us complete the work, which is full of entertainment
and instruction to every reader fond of trees, and more particularly to those
who are acquainted with the county, the gardens and trees of which Mr. Grigor
describes.

A History of British Forest Trees. By Prideaux John Selby, F.R.S.E., F.L.S.,
&c. Illustrated by a woodcut of each species, and numerous vignettes.
8vo, pp. 48. London, 1841.

This is a very beautifully got up work. No pains have been spared on either
the engravings or the letterpress, but we must say that the result, as far as
respects the engravings, is not at all in proportion to the labour incurred.
The portraits of the trees want character, which, we suppose, cannot be attained
on so small a scale. Even on the larger scale adopted in our Arboretum
Britannicum, we found it extremely difficult to get artists to produce character,
more especially in the young trees ; for it may with truth be stated, that the
art of engraving trees, either on copper or on wood, is yet in its infancy. The
letterpress is every thing that could be wished ; and the work, taken as a
whole, may be characterised as one of great beauty, and a fit companion to
Yarrel’s British Birds and Yarrel’s British Fishes.

Die Coniferen. By Francis Antoine. Parts II. and III. 1840.

Part I. of this work is recorded and quoted from in p.28. The numbers
before us carry on the list as far as No. 36., Pinus canariénsis. The plates are
well executed, both in regard to engraving and colouring ; and the work, which

may be obtained through Mr. Pamplin, will be highly acceptable to many British
collectors of Coniferee.

A Descriptive Catalogue of Roses grown for Sale by H. Lane and Son, Great
Berkhampstead, Herts, for the Autumn of 1841 and Spring of 1842.

A very copious catalogue of, 1. Roses, which bloom in May, June, and July;

Catalogue of Works on Gardening, §c. 625

2. Climbing roses, blooming in June, July, and August ; and 3. Perpetual, or
autumnal, roses, which blow from June till November ; occupying only
twenty-four pages. It may be sent by post for twopence.

A Manual of the British Alge ; containing Generic and Specific Descriptions of all
the known British Species of Sea-weeds, and of Conferve, both Marine and
Freshwater. By the Honourable William Henry Harvey. 8vo, pp. 216.
London, 1841.

The introduction to this work, occupying 57 pages, is one of the most in-
structive and agreeable dissertations on botanical classification that we have
ever read, and can hardly fail to interest persons in the study of A’lge who
had previously paid but little attention to these vegetables. We regret that
our limits do not admit of our quoting from it.

A Catalogue of Plants collected in the Neighbourhood of Banbury. By George
Gulliver, F.R.S., F.L.S., Assistant Surgeon to the Royal Regiment of
Horse Guards. 12mo, pp. 37. London, Cambridge, and Banbury, 1841.

The arrangement is according to the Linnzan system, and we regret to say
that there is nothing added to the names and the habitats to create an interest
in the plants. Should the work come to a second edition, we recommend the
author to take a hint from the Flora of Berwick upon Tweed.

A few Hints on Root-Pruning of Pear and other Trees, with a Descriptive Cata-
logue of Fruits. By T. Rivers, Jun., of Sawbridgeworth.

~The catalogue of fruits we have noticed at length, and favourably, in our
preceding volume, p. 263. The Hints on; Root-Pruning are excellent, and
may be applied to shrubs and ornamental trees, which it is desired to throw
into flower, as well as to fruit trees. The practice is of great antiquity; but
it was revived by the late Mr. Beattie of Scone, about thirty years ago, and its
great importance has recently been ably shown by Mr. Errington in this
Magazine, and Mr. Rivers in the Hort. Trans., and in the present pamphlet.

The Kitchen-Garden ; extracted, by permission, from The British Almanac of the
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge for the Year 1837. 12mo,
pp: 30. London, 1841.

Cheap enough, but too concise to be of much use as a separate work.

The Farmers Encyclopedia, and Dictionary of Rural Affairs. Tilustrated by
Wood-Engravings of the best and most improved Agricultural Implements, &c.
Forming one of the Series of Encyclopedias and Dictionaries now in course of
Publication. By Cuthbert W. Johnson, Esq., Barrister at Law ; Correspond-
ing Member of the Maryland Horticultural Society ; Author of several of
the Prize Essays of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, and other
Agricultural Works ; Editor of the “ Farmer’s Almanack,” &c. Parts I. and
II. for September and October. 8vo, pp. 128. London, 1841.

This promises to be avery useful work. The history of agriculture is good ;
but, in our opinion, there is rather too much said on common plants and weeds.
After every botanic name which forms the heading of an article, the natural
order ought to have been given, as telling more to any person that has even
the slightest degree of knowledge of plants according to that system than a
page of words.

The Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. Vol, II. Part II.

London, 1841.

This excellent journal maintains its high character (see p. 79.) for science
and practical usefulness. The first article, on the past and present state of
agriculture in Northumberland, is very interesting, as showing the great progress
which has been made in agriculture and general civilisation in that county
since the middle of the last century, when “the king’s writ could not run

ss 2

626 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, &c.

throughout the county.”’ There is an excellent article, by Mr. Curtis, on the
different insects affecting the turnip crop ; and one, by Professor Henslow, on
the Fingi producing rust and mildew. Besides these articles, which interest
the gardener as well as the farmer, there is a copious review of Professor

Daubeny’s lecture on manures. The purely agricultural papers are numerous
and varied.

The British Farmer's Magazine for 1841. In monthly numbers. 8vo.
3s. each,

There are many excellent papers in this work, which is very greatly im-
proved since it came under the management of the present editor. Many of
the articles are as interesting to the gardener as to the farmer, particularly the
papers on vegetable physiology, draining, and the editor’s tours.

The Entomologist. Conducted by Edward Newman, F.L.S., Z.8., &c.;
many years Editor of “ The Entomological Magazine;” Author of
“« Sphinx vespiformis,’ “ The Grammar of Entomology,” “ History of
British Ferns,” &c. No. UX. for July. In monthly numbers. London,
1841. 6s. each.

A periodical which will be as acceptable to the entomologist, as the
Phytologist, edited by the same author, is to the lover of plants. We sin-
cerely wish both journals that success which they so well deserve.

Brande’s Dictionary of Science, Literature, and Art, §c. Parts II. to VIII.

We have strongly commended this work in p. 177., and the numbers now
before us justify our again recommending it to our readers, as the best
substitute for a scientific encyclopzedia extant in the English language.

Lectures on Chemistry, including its Application in the Arts. By Henry M. Noad,
Lecturer on Chemistry; Author of Lectures on Electricity, &c. In 8yvo
numbers. London and Dublin, 1841. 1s. each.

We fear this work is rather too dear to obtain an extensive circulation.

The Eighth Annual Report of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society. 8vo,
pp. 100; with a woodcut. Falmouth, 1840.

We have neticed the Seventh Annual Report of this Society in p. 177.:
that before us contains various interesting papers, including three meteorolo-
gical registers for 1840, with remarks on the weather of that year. The
articles are illustrated by five lithographic prints.

Model Mapping, as suggestive of a general and economic System of Drainage
and Irrigation, §c. By J. Bailey Denton, Surveyor, Gray’s Inn Square.
Model mapping has been a favourite object of ours since 1805, as will

appear by the following extract from the Farmer’s Magazine for that year.

“ We have seen, at Mr. Loudon’s, two models of the North Berwick
Estate; one showing the present appearance and contents of the estate
in general, and the other showing the effect of an intended new place of
residence for the proprietor (Sir Hugh Hamilton Dalrymple). In addition to
this last model, there is an elegant manuscript volume, illustrated by drawings
and sketches, containing Mr. Loudon’s ideas of the place, his reasons for pro-
posing the improvements, and practical directions for executing them; ac-
companied with working plans, a large vertical projile showing the effect of
the whole, and a general estimate of the expense.

“ Mr. Loudon, we understand, intends to send duplicates of the above
models, plans, &c., to No. 4. Chapel Street, Bedford Row, his lodgings in
London; where, or at No. 7. Terrace, Edinburgh, they may be seen and
examined by any gentleman who shall take the trouble of calling.” (Harm.
Mag., vol. vi. p. 127.) In the preceding page of the same volume are
enumerated the advantages which it is supposed will attend this mode of
imitating estates.

Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sc. 627

Under these circumstances, it will easily be conceived that we highly
approve of Mr. Denton’s pamphlet, which we most cordially recommend
to all our readers who take an interest in such subjects ; and more especially
to landed proprietors who wish to have correct and easily understood repre-
sentations of their estates.

Description and Use of an improved Levelling Stave. By J. Sopwith, F.G.S.,
Land and Mine Surveyor, Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
The object of Mr. Sopwith’s improvement is to save time, by enabling the

surveyor to read off the figures for himself at the very moment of taking the
observation, without requiring any aid from the assistant. This will be an
important saving of time, as well as an assurance against mistakes arising
from ignorance or inattention. For the construction of the stave we must
refer to the pamphlet.

Illustrations and Descriptions of Kilpeck Church, Herefordshire ; with an Essay
on Ecclesiastical Design. By G. R. Lewis: author of “ A Series of Groups
on the People of France and Germany”; of the Illustrations to Dr. Dibdin’s
“ Tour through France and Germany” ; “ View of the Muscles of the Human
Body” ; “ An Address to the Manufacturers on the subject of Education, as
connected with Design, in every department of British Manufacture”; and,
preparing for publication, “ British Forest Trees.” Parts II. and III.
Folio, numerous lithographs. London, 1841.

We noticed Part I. of this work in our volume for last year, p. 561. The
two parts before us are of intense interest to those who are at all attached
to the study of architecture or antiquities. Mr. Lewis thinks he has got
the key to the principles of design of the Gothic architects, as far as
respects ornament ; and, if he is correct, these principles are certainly very
curious. For example, the following is a description of the nave of Kilpeck
Church :—

“ It appears to me, that the designer intended the figures 19 and 2, at the
beginning and end of the nave, to represent the Garden of Eden. The nave
to be considered the garden, the place of trial to all who enter therein.
Obedience or disobedience to God’s commands will then be seen, and the
rewards and punishments made known for their fulfilment or neglect. The
trees of life, and knowledge of good and evil, are there planted and explained
to all who seek it lawfully, by entering in at the strait gate, the door and
the way of God’s word. Figs. 18, 9, 4, and 3, are fowls of the air and
beasts of the field, and 5 is fruit of the trees of the garden; 16 and 17 are
Adam and Eye; 15 the serpent, the power of which is seen in the union
of many. In the space between the end of 14 and 15 a bracket is wanting,
and 14 is defaced. The subject on the lost bracket might have been the
fall of Adam and Eve; and on that which is defaced, sorrow or thorns
and thistles ; 12, the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden ; 11, Adam
and Eve clothed; and ‘the Lord God made coats of skin, and clothed
them, and sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground, from
whence he was taken.’” (p. 10.)

In this manner, all the ornaments in the interior, and also on the exterior,
of the church, are described and spiritualised; and there are, besides, copious
extracts from Durandus, illustrative of the same subject. In short, the
perusal of the work is calculated to give a new interest to every Gothic
church.

Report of the Select Committee appointed to inquire into the present State of
the “ National Monuments and Works of Art,” §c. Folio, pp. 6. 1841.

It is highly gratifying to find that additional facilities are every year being
given for the admission of the people to their public monuments, and that acts
of this kind are not abused by them. The following notice respecting
Hampton Court Palace is gratifying :—

ss 3

628 Literary Notices.

“This building, consisting of twenty-nine rooms, with its collection- of
paintings, has been generously and liberally thrown open by Her Majesty’s
command, without charge or any restriction of numbers, for five days of the
week, from ten to four o’clock in the winter, and to six o’clock in the summer,
and on Sundays after two o’clock: the number of visitors has also greatly
increased, and the propriety of their demeanour has fully warranted this
accommodation. It is pleasing also to observe that those attendants who
formerly received fees for admittance express as much satisfaction at the
change of system as the public do, who paid them formerly, not unfrequently
with reluctance and complaint. To the better feeling now produced must be
ascribed the absence of any injury to the pictures, such as is mentioned by
Mr. Grundy, the keeper of the pictures, to have taken place a short time
before the free system was established. The number of visitors to the palace
in 1839 was 116,000, and in 1840, 122,339, mostly of the working classes.
The admission of the public on Sunday afternoons, sometimes to the number
of 3000 persons, and their exemplary conduct in the palace and gardens, is a
peculiar and important feature. The state of the apartments, of the turf,
and of the unfenced flower-beds in the garden, where such numbers spread
about at will, is certainly a strong proof of the good disposition and improved
conduct of the crowds which frequent it, and requires no other comment than
a reference to the very small establishment of attendants. There is a notice
put up in the garden in the following words :—‘ What is intended for public
enjoyment the public are expected to protect ;? and your Committee again
call the attention of the House to the satisfactory result of placing confidence
in the people.”

The Journey-Book of England.—Derbyshire. With twenty-three engravings
on wood, and an illustrated map of the county. Small 4to, pp. 150.
London, 1841.

A useful and entertaining work, very neatly got up, and very cheap.

A Developement of the Principles and Plan on which to establish Self-supporting
Home Colonies ; as a most secure and profitable Investment for Capital, and an
effectual Means permanently to remove the Causes of Ignorance, Poverty, and
Crime ; and most materially to benefit all Classes of Society, by giwing a right
Application to the now greatly misdirected Powers of the Human Faculties and
of Physical and Moral Science. By Robert Owen. 4to, pp. 138. London,
1841.

Mr. Owen, we understand, has obtained possession of land in Hampshire,
where he is about to give a practical illustration of his doctrines. We hope
he will meet with no obstruction, because it is most desirable to see what his
system is capable of effecting.

The Farmer's Almanack and Calendar for 1842. By C. W. Johnson, Esq.,
and William Shaw, Esq. Small 8vo. London.
A very useful book for the farmer, at the moderate price of 1s.

Art. IV. Literary Notice.

THE Guide to the Conservatory, by Richard Bainbridge, Flower-Gardener to
the Right Honourable Lord Wenlock, Escrick Park, Yorkshire, is preparing
for the press, under the patronage of the Right Honourable Lady Wenlock,
Lady Milner, Mrs. Garforth, &c. &c. Price to subscribers, 6s.; to non-sub-
scribers, 7s.— This work is written expressly as a pocket companion, and is
particularly recommended to the young gardener, amateur, &c. Its general
feature is brevity with comprehensiveness : at the same time it comprises a
practical treatise on a select list of the most choice and admired plants of the

General Notices. 629

present day; the management of the greenhouse, conservatory, and exotic
stove; the Linnzan and Jussieuean arrangements ; native country ; best mode
of flowering, propagation, and soils ; the forcing of shrubs, bulbs, &c. ; with
full instructions for keeping up a succession of bloom throughout every month
of the year. Taken from notes of the author’s daily practice, and from com-
munications furnished by several eminent floriculturists, &c.

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

ArT. I. General Notices.

WHAT constitutes a Gardener. — He only deserves the name of a gardener
who not only knows how to do a thing in his own place, but elsewhere ; and
why success attends his practice, and how to vary it under new circum-
stances. Such a man, when he finds winter at midsummer, and the dog-days
in December, as in the southern hemisphere, or a climate where our cold
season of rest is absent, and in which all the energies of plants are stimu-
lated by heat and rains unknown to him at home, is able to adapt himself to
such circumstances, and to shift his times and modes of cultivation, and to
change his crops to suit them. In order to acquire this power, he must study
with the utmost attention the works of modern writers on vegetable physio-
logy, and make himself master of every thing that is known concerning the
way in which plants live, feed, grow, breathe, digest, and have their being.
Then combining this knowledge with the manual skill, which it is his business
to acquire during the period of his learning the art of horticulture, he becomes
a gardener properly so called, and is able to carry on his profession with ad-
vantage in whatever climate he may be called upon to exercise it. (Gard.
Chron., vol. 1. p. 411.)

Order-Book.—Mr. Beaton (Jbid., p.215.) recommends gardeners in exten-
sive places to keep an order-book, which may be done after the manner of a
banker’s cheque-book, taking a memorandum in the margin before tearing off
the order. ;

The Theory of Excretions in Plants is now generally doubted, because the
experiments of Macaire, on which it was founded, have, on repetition, given
very different results from those which he obtained. The subject is still open
to investigation; for as yet we have no unquestionable evidence of any pro-
cess of excretion, like that assumed by Macaire, &c. (Ibid., p. 630.)

Liffect of coloured Light on Plants. — Some very interesting experiments on
this subject have been made by Dr. Horner of Hull, and Mr. Hunt of the Royal
Cornwall Polytechnic Institution. The following extract is from the Report
of Mr. Hunt : —

“ During the early part of the spring of 1840, some experiments I was then
pursuing on the chemical influence of solar light led me to the discovery of
some extraordinary facts connected with the action of light on vegetation.
With the hope of exciting the attention of those engaged in horticultural pur-
suits, and of rendering some assistance, little though it be, in overcoming some
of the difficulties experienced in causing the germimation of the seeds of some
rare exotics, I am induced to trespass on the time of the Society. It is scarcely
necessary to explain that every beam of light proceeding from its solar source
is a bundle of different-coloured rays, to the absorption or reflection of which
we owe all that infinite diversity of colour which is one of the greatest charms
of creation. These rays have been long known to possess different functions,
and have hence been distinguished according to their supposed properties ; the
violet and blue being called the chemical rays, the green and yellow the
luminous rays, and the red the calorific or heat-giving rays. These distinctions

ss 4 ;

630 General Notices.

are not in accordance with the strict truth, but they are sufficiently so to suit -
my present purpose. The light which permeates coloured glasses partakes, to
some considerable extent, of the character of the ray which corresponds with
the glass in colour: thus, blue glass admits the blue or chemical rays, to the
exclusion, or nearly so, of all the others ; yellow glass admits only the per-
meation of the luminous rays, while red glass cuts off all but the heating rays,
which pass it freely. This affords us a very easy method of growing plants
under the influence of any particular light which may be desired. The fact to
which I would particularly call attention is, that the yellow and red rays are
destructive to germination, whereas, under the influence of violet, indigo, or
blue light, the process is quickened in a most extraordinary manner. The
experiment is very readily tried by covering a box in which seeds are sown
with coloured glasses. The plants will grow most luxuriantly beneath glass
of a blue character, but beneath the yellow and red glasses the natural process
is entirely checked. Indeed, it will be found that at any period during the
early life of a plant, its growth may be checked by exposing it to the action of
red or yellow light. Here we have the very extraordinary fact, that that
portion of the sun’s light which produces the greatest impression on the
organs of sight, and that also which diffuses warmth through the creation, are
destructive to the first processes of vegetation. It is with much satisfaction
that I find the results to which I have arrived corroborated by Dr. F. R. Horner
of Hull. In conclusion, I may be allowed to point out, that by studying the
effect of these different rays, isolated and in different states of combination,
we have the means of imitating the nature of any clime of which a plant may
be the habitant. By blending the violet with the yellow light in certain pro-
portions, we may artificially produce the light which shines on ‘ Syria’s land
of roses ;’ by uniting with these the red light, we may produce effects on our
island soil similar to those seen on the arid wilds over which ‘ the acacia
waves her yellow hair ;’ and by isolating the violet rays we may, to some
extent, imitate the climate of the frigid zone.” (Gardener's Chronicle, vol. 1.
. 347,

ji hear Dust spread over soil would appear to deter insects from laying
their eggs there, and hence it is recommended as a preventive of the onion
grub, and of clubbing m cabbages. (Léid., vol. i. p. 165.)

Sawdust mixed with Stable Manure, in forming hotbeds, causes them to keep
longer in heat than when made altogether of stable manure. (Jéid., p. 149.)

Pounded Brick-bats are recommended as a substitute for crocks ; a flat crock
being placed over the whole, and some rough peat on the top of the brick
drainage. (Ibid., p. 229.)

The Guernsey Weeding-Prong. — The head of this implement (fig. 58.) is
in the shape of a claw-hammer, with the one end flattened into a chisel, 1 in.

—

Fig. 58. The Guernsey Weeding-Prong.

wide ; and the forked, or clawed end, consisting of two sharp flat prongs, by
which the weeds are grubbed up and lifted at the same time. The length of
the head, from the extremity of the chisel end to that of the prong end, is
9 in., and it is attached to a handle 5 ft. long. A great part of the labour of
weeding may, in most gardens, be performed by women and children; and it
will not only be lightened, but their hands will be kept clean, by the adoption
of the Guernsey prong. (did., p. 66.; and Sub. Hort., p. 238.)

Sending home Seed from Foreign Countries. — To emigrants and others
sending seeds from foreign countries, Dr. Lindley recommends strict ob-
servance of the following rules: —‘“ 1. Let the seeds be thoroughly dried by
exposure to the sun (nota fire), or in a dry chamber; this is of the first
Importance. 2. Let the papers, also, or canvass bags, in which they are

General Notices. 631

packed, be thoroughly dried. 3. Let the smaller packages be tied up sepa-
rately, and then placed loosely in canvass bags, or coarse sacking, so that
they can be readily disturbed by shaking up during a voyage. 4. Let ar-
rangements be made for these bags being kept ina dry cabin, or some well-
ventilated part of the ship.” (p.'715.)— To which we may add, on the
authority of Mr. James Backhouse, that suspension 2 or 3 feet from the ceiling
of the cabin is desirable, in order to avoid the heated moist air that rises from
the floor to the roof, and rots articles there which are found quite fresh mid-
way down.

The Hon. W. Leslie Melville, who brought home the cones of the deodar
cedar, from the seeds contained in which so many plants have been raised,
kept the cones in his cabin in a box not sealed or soldered up, and occa-
sionally exposed them to the sun and air during the voyage of four months,
and did not allow them to encounter the heat of the hold of the ship.
(Gard. Chron., p.731.) As exceptions to the general and important rule of
ventilating seeds as a means of preservation, Dr. Lindley adds the following : —
“If acorns or sweet chestnuts are preserved dry, they soon lose their
vitality ; the same is apparently true of the mango, of magnolias, the Chilian
araucaria, and some other plants. The reason of this has never been
satisfacterily explained. It is, however, known that the most certain mode
of conveying these seeds is to place them in a situation where they are
unable either to absorb moisture or to lose it. The best manner of effect-
ing this, is to pack them in dry sand, or nearly dry loam. Take a box
of wood sufficiently stout to resist some pressure from within; strew 3in,
of sand on the bottom; upon this place a thin layer of the seed, taking
care that the outside seeds are not nearer than 3in. to the side of the box ;
then cover this layer with 14 or 2 inches of sand, according to the size of
the seeds, and go on placing the seed and sand in alternate layers, till the
box is full; place 3 in. more sand on the upper layer of seed, and fasten
down the lid. With these precautions, all the seeds mentioned, and others
of a similar kind, will travel for some months without injury. It is, how-
ever, necessary to observe that the sand or earth must be pressed down
very firmly, so that it may not be able to settle away from the sides of
the box after the lid is fastened down. This is also the best way to pack
bulbs for a long voyage, provided they are ripe when they are collected.” —
(Jéid., p. 731.)

The Oxygenation of Water by green Plants and Animalcules. — Professor A.
Morren of Angers, and Professor C. Morren of Liege, have communicated
to the Royal Academy of Sciences at Brussels an important memoir on some
properties in water hitherto unknown, which, it is said, will have consider-
able effect upon the watering of ‘plants, and on public health. Humboldt and
Gay Lussac ascertained experimentally that the running water of rivers, and
distilled, and aerated water, contain a bulk of air equal to one fourth of their
own volume dissolved in it, and which consists of oxygen and azote, in the
proportion of 32 of the former to 68 of the latter. Messrs. Morren have proved
that this air in the water may contain from 56 to 98 parts of oxygen, when
it is stagnant, or when it has green vegetables (Conférvz) and green animal-
cules in it. In July, in the morning, 100 parts of water hold in solution 25
parts of oxygen, 48 at mid-day, and 61 at 5 o’clock in the evening. The
quantity of nitrogen always remains the same. The influence of light on the
respiration of plants and animalcules determines the oxygenation of water.
In days when there is little or no sun, water contains little oxygen, and is less
wholesome. In rainy days no oxygenation goes on. The oxygenation com-
mences at daybreak, and arrives at its maximum at 5 in the afternoon, at
which time water is much more salubrious than at any other hour for watering
plants, since it supplies their roots with the greatest amount of oxygen.
(ibid., p. 199.) ; ,

Suspended Vegetation. —M. Pepin gives a number of curious examples, in-
cluding fragments of roots of the following species which had remained buried
and torpid :— Bigndnia radicans, for 10 years ; Gymnocladus canadensis, 10 ;

632 General Notices.

locust. trees, 10 ; U'lmus campéstris, 6 ; Dodartia orientalis, 8 ; Huphdrbia, 6 ;
Hoffmannséggia falcata, 10; Solanum carolinianum, 10; Pulmonaria virgi-
nica, 5; Urtica cannabina, 4. (Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 716.)

Raising Plants from Seed.— Mr. Gordon of the Hort. Soc. Garden states
that all seeds from North America and California should be sown in the
autumn, as soon as ripe ; to defer sowing them till the spring may in all
cases be disadvantageous, except in the case of annuals: that Mexican and
Chilian seeds succeed best if sown in spring: that, with regard to Europe and
the North of India, trees and shrubs should be sown in the autumn, and an-
nuals or perennials in the spring: that all seeds, of whatever kind, should be
sown in dry soil, and not watered till they begin to vegetate ; in the case of
old or sickly seeds, to water them at the time of sowing is to insure their
destruction by rotting: that shading is to be preferred to watering ; and that
one of the best constructions for the purpose, is a pit glazed with double
sashes, like one in the Society’s garden: finally, that all seedlings should be
potted or transplanted as soon as possible, except bulbs. (George Gordon,
abid., p. 438.)

Root-Pruning is founded on the principle that, “ if the roots of a plant are
large and numerous, the head must be so too ; for this plain reason, that the
amount of fluid food received by a plant is in proportion to the size and
extent of its roots, and that food must be expended in the formation of
branches ;” and that “ whatever produces excessive vigour in plants is favour-
able to the formation of leaf-buds, and unfavourable to the production of
flower-buds ; while,on the other hand, such circumstances as tend to dimi-
nish luxuriance, and to check rapid vegetation, without affecting the health of
the individual, are more favourable to the production of flower-buds than of
leaf-buds.” (Theory of Hort., p.65.) The operation may be performed at any
time between the fall of the leaf and the swelling of the buds in spring ;
but it is better to execute it before the end of November. (Gard. Chron.,
vol.i. p. 683.)

Acclimatising Plants.—From numerous experiments made upon this subject
in the Hort. Soc. Garden, it appears : —Ist, That plants which it is intended
to acclimatise should never be subjected to artificial heat during the winter that
precedes their being planted out ; that if obtained from seeds, as little heat as
possible should be employed in raising them; and that starved or stunted
plants are more likely to succeed than such as have been forced into a rapid
and luxuriant growth. 2d, That the plants should not be committed to the
open ground earlier than the end of May; that the soil should be poor, dry,
and thoroughly drained ; that, if against a wall, the border should be protected .
through the entire winter by a roof of hurdles thatched with straw, and
projecting about 3 ft. A thermometer placed under such a covering did
not, during the three months of February, March, or April, stand more than
two or three degrees higher than one freely exposed; from which it appears
that it is the dryness of the situation, and not its greater warmth, that ren-
ders a border protected by a roof of thatched hurdles so useful to tender
plants. (G@. Gordon, in Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 43.)

Neatness often the Cause ofimpoverishing the Soil, more especially in public gar-
dens, where manure is never given. In a forest the leaves fall and decay ;
limbs torn off by a storm themselves crumble by degrees; the fruit drops at
the foot of the parent, and all, but that minute portion which grows into
another plant, rots and restores to the earth what had been abstracted in its
own formation ; and that life is perpetually maintained by the operations of
death. In our squares and promenades, on the contrary, not a leaf falls, nor
a bough is broken, but is immediately swept away, for the sake of neatness ;
and the trees give up all that nature bounteously provides for their renovation,
without receiving any thing in return. If we rob plants of one kind of food,
because it offends our eyes, we must give them some other to which the same
objection does not apply. (Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 163.)

The Scion will affect the Quality, although not the Organisation of the Steck. —
Pears grafted on the mountain ash are rendered more vigorous and hardy, and

General Notices. 633

also earlier. Pears on quinces become more high-coloured; peaches on plum
stocks are coarser than on peaches, and much inferior in quality. Apples on
the Siberian bitter-sweet are more highly coloured than on the crab. An
apricot is said to have been worked on a greengage plum, and a quince upon
the autumn bergamot pear; the apricot became as juicy as the greengage, and
far more delicate, the quince was much more tender, and less gritty. Now,
if the quality of fruit is affected by the stock that bears it, one would infer
that the goodness of all our cultivated fruits is deteriorated by their being
uniformly worked upon stocks whose fruit is worthless ; for example, the
almond or the austere plum can only injure the peaches they are made to bear,
the crab the apple, and so on. On the other hand, if trees of excellent
quality were used for stocks, they ought to improve the fruit of the scion
that is worked upon them. We see that some German writers, proceeding
upon some such reasoning as this, have been recommending gardeners to
practise the art of “ ennobling” fruit trees, by taking the best varieties for
stocks, instead of the worst, and they assert that, by such means, the excel-
lence of fruit is greatly increased. Treffz is represented by Meyer, as trans-
lated in Taylor’s Magazine, to have made known, as long ago as 1803, several
instances of ennobling; from which it appears that apple trees twice ennobled
bore fruit of distinguished excellence, currants and gooseberries improved
after one ennobling, and much more so after the operation had been repeated
three and four times. The bud of a variegated white jasmine being inserted in
the bark of Jasminum revolutum, though the eye did not grow, yet as the bark
lived and adhered, such was its influence, that the revolute jasmine became
variegated. If a taint producing variegation can be thus communicated, why
HOE some other quality, such as taste, flavour, or smell (Gard. Chron., vol. 1.
£307.)
: Propagation by Leaves. —You requested me to state in writing, the success
which I had many years ago in raising certain monocotyledonous plants from
the leaf. In the year 1809, I first tried to raise bulbs of a Cape ornithoga-
lum, by setting a cutting of aleaf. The leaf was cut off just below the surface
of the earth, in an early stage of its growth, before the flower-stalk had begun
to rise, and it was set in the earth near the edge of the pot in which the mo-
ther plant was growing, and so left to its fate. The leaf continued quite fresh,
and, on examination (when the bulb was flowering), a number of young bulbs
and radical fibres were found adhering to it. They appeared to have been
formed by the return of the sap which had nourished the leaf. Thereupon
two or three leaves more were taken off and placed in like situations, but they
turned yellow, and died without producing any bulbs. It appeared to me
then, and it was confirmed by subsequent experience, that, in order to obtain
a satisfactory result, the leaf must be taken off while the plant is advancing in
growth. I found it easy thus to multiply some bulbs that did not willingly
produce offsets. I afterwards tried, without cutting the leaf off} to make an
oblique incision in it under ground, and in some cases just above ground; at-
tempting, in fact, to raise bulbs by layering the leaf. This attempt was also
successful ; and some young bulbs were formed on the edge of the cut above
ground, as well as below. I tried cuttings of the stem of some species of
Lilium, and obtained bulbs at the axil of the leaf, as well as from the scales of
the bulb; and that practice has been since much resorted to by gardeners,
though I believe it originated with me. I raised a great number of bulbs of
the little plant which has been successively called Massonia, Scilla, and Hya-
cinthus corymbosus, by setting a pot full of its leaves, and placing a bell-glass
over them for a short time. A bulb was obtained with equal facility from a
leaf of a rare species of Eticomis ; and experiments with the leaves of lache-
nalias were generally successful. I apprehend that all liliaceous bulbs may
be thus propagated; but the more fleshy the leaf, the more easily the object
will be attamed. (W. Herbert, in Gard. Chron. for 1841, p. 381.) se
Budding. — Much depends on the edge of the shield of the bark containing
the bud being cut quite smooth. In the act of cutting out the piece of
wood with the bud, if there is much to be done, the knife is soon blunted in

634 General Notices. 2

the edge, and the bark cuts rough; indeed, even when the knife is newly
sharpened, it will always come out rougher than with the following plan, and,
besides, the bark is apt to be hurt by extracting the wood after it is cut off
the shoot. All these may be prevented, by cutting the bark all round the
bud to the exact shape and size wanted, without cutting the wood at all.
After this, if the thumb be applied to the side of the bud and gently squeezed
upwards, the bud will come out as smooth as glass in the cut, if the bark is
free ; and, unless it be so, the budding is not like to do well. For cherries,
plums, peaches, and fruit trees in general, this is the best of all methods ; the
piece of wood is apt to fly out between the bud and bark if the bud is well
ripened, but it is apt to fly out at any rate by any of the methods; the base
of the bud is, however, uninjured, and, if this is left, the wood is easily re-
generated. It has been long the general opinion among nurserymen, that the
wood is essential ; but we have often marked pieces of work done with buds
where the wood had come out so hollow at the eye that the base of the bud
could not be perceived, and they generally succeeded better than the other
buds. (R. Lymburn, in Gard. Chron., vol. 1. p. 533.)

Tobacco-Paper is preferable to tobacco to fumigate with, because it is
cheaper, and does not burn so fast. (Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 213.)

Tobacco-Water will kill all aphides, but much more effectually when warm
than when cold. (Jdid., p. 617.)

Spirit of Tar mixed with sand, at the rate of a gallon of spirit to a barrow-
load of sand, and strewed over sixty or seventy square yards, will deter
insects from depositing their eggs there by its powerful smell. (did, p. 105.)

Sulphuretted Hydrogen Gas is recominended for destroying rats, mice, and
other noxicus animals, in their lurking-places, and it might also be employed
to destroy insects in plant structures. (Jérd., p. 199.)

Stifling Insects by coating them over with Clay Paint, paste, or gum-water,
may sometimes be had recourse to; life being destroyed by preventing respi-
ration. (Idid.)

Deterring Insects by Mud.— The gooseberry caterpillar may be destroyed by
sprinkling the bushes with water, and then dusting them with dry soil, which
forms mud on the surface of the leaves. A decoction of the root of white
hellebore has also been found effectual ; and hellebore in powder still more
so. Attention must be had that the powder reaches the caterpillars, whether
on the upper or under sides of the leaves. (Jdid., p. 533.)

To destroy Moss in Lawns.— Moss may be destroyed in lawns by watering
with pure gas water, diluted with water in the proportion of one to two; and
also with nitrate of soda, at the rate of 1 cwt. per acre. The latter is more
effectual, and more productive of grass afterwards. (Jdid., p. 613.)

The Construction of Pipes for circulating hot Water has been lately much
improved by Mr. Perkins, who has introduced screw-joints and couplings of
peculiar kinds, which render stuffing and cement wholly unnecessary. The
construction is so simple that the pipes may be put up by any gardener, with-
out the aid of a mechanic. (See Repert. of Arts for October, 1841, p. 218.)

Heat considered relatively to Plant Structures. —In Mr. Ainger’s first paper
(Gard. Chron., vol.i. p. 211.), he endeavours to show “that heat at all tem-
peratures is transferred much more effectually by radiation than by the
contact and carrying power of the air. Asa proof of this, he mentions the
greatly superior radiating power of earthenware, compared with the greater
conducting power of metal, as exemplified in an earthenware teapot as com-
pared with a silver one. The distinction between what I have called carrying
power and conducting power is very important, and requires to be borne
in mind. Gases and liquids have no appreciable conducting power; they
receive heat by contact, and the part so heated, ascending by reason of its
acquired levity, gives place for a fresh portion to be heated and ascend in its
turn. Again, it must be remembered that, even as carriers, gases and liquids
take up heat by contact only, and absorb no sensible portion of that which
traverses them in a radiant state. The sun’s rays may be brought to a focus

General Notices. 635

which would melt platina, without producing any effect when the concen-
tration takes place in air or water.

The enormous differences produced in the rate of cooling and transmission
by change of surface, as shown in Sir John Leslie’s and other experiments,
prove beyond question that radiation is the great and important channel by
which interchanges of heat take place, and that when it is proposed to sub-
stitute for this the carrying power of the air, we adopt a feeble, difficult, cir-
cuitous mode of effecting a purpose which will accomplish itself rapidly and
spontaneously, by placing the objects, so to speak, in sight of each other.
There is the further advantage, before alluded to, that by radiant heat we
communicate heat only ; whereas, by using air, we introduce a new set of con-
ditions in regard to moisture. With radiant heat it may, indeed, be requisite
to supply moisture, which, when necessary, is easily done ; but with air as the
carrier, air, therefore, in constant change, we employ a vehicle whose relations
to moisture are extremely difficult to maintain in exactly the proper state.
Air, warmed and unsupplied with moisture, is a very sponge, and exerts an un-
limited drying influence upon all fluids presented to it ; and air, if warmed and
fully saturated, becomes a wet sponge, which will deposit moisture on all
bodies at an inferior temperature with which it comes in contact. The fact
is, that air is a very efficient cooler or warmer, if it be allowed freely to attract
moisture in the one case or to deposit it in the other; but as we do not
always require to do these, or not, at least, in the proportions which might
suit the capacity of the air for absorbing or retaining moisture, it is better, I
think, to warm by means which are more independent. (Gard. Chron.,
vol.i p. 212.)

Boiler Furnaces. — Mr. Ainger recommends combustion within slowly-con-
ducting materials, radiation to the largest possible quantity of surface, and
avoidance of circuitous flues. (Ibid., p. 684.)

Laying Hot-water Pipes in Troughs of Water, as at Mrs. Lawrence’s and
Mr. Green’s, is strongly recommended. (Jbid., p. 597.)

Glazing Hothouses. —' The exclusion of water and the prevention of break-
age depend much on the laps touching in every part, so as to admit no mois-
ture between ; such moisture being driven into the house by high winds, and
expanding and breaking the glass during frost. (Jdid., p. 646.)

Old Putty softened.— Old putty may be softened by rubbing it with soft
soap, and allowing it to remain for a few hours. (Jdid., p. 685.) Toremove
old putty, the glaziers pass a warm iron a few times over it. (Jdid., p. 613.)

A Pit for wintering Plants should have the bottom dry, by its being raised
12 or 18 inches above the adjoining surface, besides should be so constructed
as to exclude frost, and the aspect should be to the north. If it faces the
south, the air within it is apt to become heated by the sun, and thus the
plants are stimulated into temporary growth at unpropitious seasons.

The necessity for a winter-house being dry, seems {to arise out of the
nature of vegetation, which, being entirely passive, cannot resist the influence
of surrounding media. If the air or soil is damp, plants exposed to them
must absorb that moisture: but, from the lowness of the temperature of a
winter-house, their powers of digestion and assimilation are torpid, and there-
fore the water they receive, instead of becoming incorporated with their
system, stagnates in their cells and cavities, where it becomes putrid ; and, as
soon as this takes place, the evil extends with rapidity, causing both branches
and stems to become rotten ; for decay in plants is always contagious, and
will spread through all the parts with which it is in contact, until the reno-
vated forces of vegetation restore the equilibrium of chemical constituents,
and thus arrest contagion.” (Jdid., p. 659.)

A Fruit-Room.— The principles which ought to guide the designer are,
darkness, a low and steady temperature, dryness to a certain point, for
apples are found to keep best ina rather damp atmosphere, and exclusion
of the external ‘air. Ifthe light of the sun strikes upon a plant, the latter
immediately parts with its moisture by perspiration, in proportion to the

636 General Notices.

force exercised on it by the sun, and independently of temperature. The
greatest amount of perspiration takes place beneath the direct rays of the sun,
and the smallest in those places to which daylight reaches with most diffi-
culty. Now, the surface of a fruit perspires like that of a leaf, although not to
the same amount. When a leaf perspires while growing on a tree, it is im-
mediately supplied with more water from the stem, and thus is enabled to bear
the loss produced by light striking on its surface; but when a leaf is plucked
it withers, because there is no longer a source of supply for it. So it is with
a fruit : while growing on the tree, it is perpetually supplied by the stem with
water enough to replace that which is all day long flying off from its surface ;
but, as soon as it is gathered, that source of supply is removed, and then, if
the light strikes it ever so feebly, it loses weight, without being able to replace
its loss. It is thus that fruit becomes shriveled and withered prematurely.
Light should therefore have no access to a good fruit-room.

Temperature should be low and uniform. If it is high, that isto say, much
above 40°, the juices of the fruit will have a tendency to decompose, and thus
decay will be accelerated ; if, on the contrary, it is below 32°, decomposition
of another kind is produced, in consequence of the chemical action of freezing.
In any case, fluctuations of temperature are productive of decay. A steady
temperature of 35° to 40°, with a dry atmosphere, will be found the best for
most kinds of fruit. Some pears of the late kinds are, however, better for
being kept 41 a temperature as high as 60°, for this ripens them, deprives
them of their grittiness, and improves their quality very essentially. We do
not, however, conceive that the general construction of the fruit-room ought
to be altered on their account ; we would rather make some special arrange-
ment for such cases. (Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 611.)

The air should be kept moderately dry, but ventilation should not be used
except for the purpose of removing offensive smells, arising from the putre-
faction of the fruit. Ventilation by continual currents of air carries off from
fruit the moisture which it contains, and thus acts in the same way as light,
in producing shriveling, and destroying that plump appearance which gives
its beauty to fruit. Another reason against ventilation is, that an equable
temperature is scarcely to be maintained when the air is constantly changed.
The sweating of fruit throws so much moisture into the air, that ventilation
is necessary to remove it ; but the sweating ought always to be carried on in
a place provided on purpose.

Great care should be taken in gathering, handling, and storing the fruit,
placing each kind by itself, and keeping wall-fruit apart from standard fruit.
Gather in baskets, and place the fruit on the shelves side by side with their eyes
downwards. When gathering and stowing are completed, shut the room as
close as possible, and only open it when fruit is wanted. (Jdid., p. 61.)

Construction of a Fruit-room.—To construct a fruit-room agreeably to the
foregoing principles, the following directions are given. The situation should be
near the gardener’s house, and the size sufficient to contain the whole of the
winter fruit spread out on shelves, in layers of one fruit in thickness. The walls
should be rendered frost-proof, by building them hollow, or covering them ex-
ternally with a casing of thatch or soil. Windows are not necessary, but, as they
are convenient, they should be small, with double sashes and inside shutters,
which may be wadded, the more effectually toretain the heat. The ceiling should
be rendered frost-proof by a roof of thatch, by pugging with hay, or by having
a chamber over it. In this chamber summer fruit can be placed, and winter
fruit may be sweated, and throughout the year the dessert prepared ; though
for this a small room on the ground floor would be found more convenient.
The communication from the chamber to the fruit-room might be by a trap-
door; and ventilation can be produced, when required, by opening the outer
door of the fruit-room, the trap in its ceiling, and the windows of the cham-
ber, when the air is not below 36°. In fruit-rooms unprovided with an upper
chamber, there must be a few wooden chimneys carried through the roof from
the ceiling, where they are to be closed by a flap; and upon opening the latter,

General Notices. 637

together with the door of the room, a sufficient current of air for ventilation
will be produced.

In all cases the room must be built on a dry bottom. If the situation is
low, the foundations must be raised in proportion, so as to elevate it com-
pletely above the damp of the earth; and if it is floored with “ concrete,”
or some substance impervious to moisture, and in which mice cannot burrow,
so much the better. It must be dry.

Supposing that space enough can be afforded, the fruit-room would be
improved by being divided into two or three compartments, to separate the
ripening fruit from that which will be later. In such a case, the door should
be at the end of the fruit-room, and the fruit which first ripens should be next
the door, while that which is latest should be stored up in the furthest com-
partment. The reason for such an arrangement is, that the compartment next
the door may be ventilated without opening the other divisions; and, as
ripening fruit requires more ventilation than such as is still immature, this is
an important provision. Then, when the first division is empty, the second
can be opened and ventilated without interfering with the third. In such a
case, however, where a chamber is over the room, the second and third com-
partments must have chimneys carried through the floor of the chamber.

In situations where the fruit-room can be built adjoining a hothouse, it
would be advantageous to construct an additional closet, which may be warmed
by the flue of the hothouse, in order to receive winter pears. These are all
exceedingly improved if gradually introduced into a temperature of 60°, or
thereabouts, in which to ripen. The chaumontel, in particular, which in
common fruit-rooms remains incurably gritty, becomes as melting as the deli-
cious specimens from Jersey. (Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 643.)

The interior should be fitted up with shelves of open-work of white deal, or
some other wood that will not give an unpleasant taste to the fruit. There
should be a table on which to place the baskets when the fruit is first brought
in, and also for taking it out; and there should be wooden boxes, or earthen
jars, in which to pack particular varieties. (Jdid., p. 643.)

Ventilation of Plant Structures. — Introducing fresh air into hothouses by
means of small pipes in the centre of hot-water pipes, practised by Mr. Weeks,
is much approved of. The hot-water pipes are 4 in. in diameter in the in-
side, and the air-pipes fixed within them are 2in. in diameter. “ This inner
pipe is put into the large one in lengths of about 4 ft., each end of whiche
is turned through the large hot-water pipes, one outward and the other inward.
The end that is taken outward is passed through the front wall, and the other
end into the house ; thus the air passes through the small pipe into the house.
Now it will be seen that the large 4-inch pipe, which is fixed in the usual way
above ground, for the purpose of heating the house, and which is full of hot-
water, has an internal pipe for air: the air being introduced from the outside
of the wall, has to pass through the body of hot water, and by so doing it gains
such a degree of heat that, by placing the ball of the thermometer close to the
end of the air-pipe inside the house, it will rise to 160° or 170° ; and the cir-
culation of air is so quick, that the leaves of plants are kept in constant
motion by a stream of fresh and heated air coming in at every 4 ft. I
have paid attention to the manner in which the air is heated and circulated,
and am satisfied that the result will be most beneficial.” (John Green, in Gard.
Chron., vol.i. p. 597.)

Tanner’ s-Bark Walks. — Fresh tanner’s bark makes a pleasant winter walk,
particularly on tenacious soils, as it never adheres to the shoes, either during
rain or after frost; half an inch in thickness, I think, is sufficient. It likewise
makes a soft and pleasant summer walk, and, from its loose nature, is readily
cleared from weeds. If not wanted during summer, it may readily be swept
clean off after a few dry days. It is invaluable for covering walks or foot-
paths in the kitchen-garden, where there is much wheeling of manure or soil to
be done during frost, which is too often obliged to be suspended after ten or
eleyen o’clock, when there is a clear sunshine, from the ground getting soft

638 General Notices.

and clammy. With a covering of tan, the operation may be continued through-
out the day, and even during wet weather. If the tan remain permanently, it
will require renewing every two years. (D. Cameron, in Gard. Chron., vol, 1.
. 101. :

F aie Roads with India-Rubber.— A patent has been taken out for
* covering roads, and other ways or surfaces, and also the tops or surfaces of
walls usually paved or covered, by the application of India-rubber (caout-
chouc) combined into blocks or slabs,” by a stone merchant. It is well known
that India-rubber can be reduced to a soft and pasty state by grinding; and it
seems that, while in this state, a quantity of charred sawdust is gradually
ground in along with the India-rubber. The mass thus formed is next pressed
in a mould, into which a quantity of strong rough sand has been put, so that
the surface of the block by means of this material may be adapted for resisting
the pressure of aroad. The sizes of the blocks may be varied, but the patentee
considers blocks 12in. by 12in. by 3in. a proper size; for paving footpaths, blocks
or slabs of 1 in. are of a convenient thickness ; and for covering walls, he
makes the blocks about the size of ordinary bricks. In using such blocks for
paving, the road or way is to be brought to a proper surface, as if about to
be paved with blocks of other materials ; and the India-rubber blocks are to be
applied over such surfaces, and caused to adhere one to another by using India-
rubber cement. We are not aware of the cost of this mode of paving, but we
think it might answer for garden walks in some situations where gravel is want-
ing or bad, or on steep surfaces.

Propagating Coniferous Plants by Cuttings. —The following method of
striking the different kinds of pines from cuttings has been attended with con-
siderable success. In August or September, select a young shoot of moderate
strength, and cut it off with a piece of the last year’s wood attached, forming
what is technically termed a heel. The leaves at the bottom of the cutting
should not be pulled off; but must either be left on entire, or shortened with a
sharp knife. When the cutting is made, it should be planted from a half to
three quarters of an inch deep in a pot, filled about one third with potsherds,
on which a layer of turfy peat should be placed, then 1 in. of good loam,
and on the top of alla layer of white sand. The loam prevents the cuttings
from cankering after they are rooted, which they are apt to do when planted
entirely in white sand. The pot of cuttings may now be placed in a cold-
“frame, kept close, and shaded when necessary ; they may remain in this situ-
ation till the end of October, when they should be put in a cold-pit for the
winter; care must be taken at that season that they do not suffer from frost
or damp, but they must on no account have fire heat. About the end of
February the pot of cuttings may be removed to a hotbed, a bell-glass being
placed closely over it; the cuttings will root readily, and many of them will
be fit to pot off by the end of June. When first potted off, the young plants
should be treated exactly in the same manner as the cuttings are. In the case
of junipers and cypresses, older wood than that used for pines is necessary, as
they have not sufficient strength to emit roots before the winter, and con-
sequently perish during that season, when only callous. If wood of two or
three years’ growth be taken, it will be found hardy enough to stand the winter,
and, with the aid of artificial heat in spring, will root freely. (G.G., in Gard.
Chron., vol. i. p. 363.)

Stunted Ash Trees. — Ash trees which are stunted and hide-bound may be
rendered fine trees by heading them down. The saw should be applied first
above the point where the secondary branches diverge from the principal ones ;
indeed we may often observe, about this part and lower down, that nature is
even giving a kind of hint that she is prepared to second us, for the young
shoots which she annually sends forth from the stems of the branches would
immediately expand and form a new head. About two thirds of the entire
height is often a proper point at which to cut ; and in many a large tree most
of the branches divided will not exceed the thickness of a man’s arm, so that
the wounds, considering they are in the most active part of the whole plant,

General Notices. 639

will never prove injurious, but will generally be covered, in great part or en-
tirely, by the advancing bark. The operation of cutting with the saw should
not only be performed under the owner’s eye, if possible, but each branch
ought to be twice sawn, the first cut being merely to get rid of the weight of
the branch, in order to prevent splitting, and the second cut very carefully
made at the proper point, 1 or 2 feet lower down. The shoots of the first
summer will, perhaps, be weak, but afterwards very strong, until a new head,
capable of bearing every blast, has been completed ; and we behold, instead
of a tall and hide-bound victim to the winds, a sturdy, storm-defying ash,
spreading its boughs in characteristic beauty. So, too, the old, misshapen,
wind-shattered ash of the hedgerow may be taught to exchange its ragged
blackened twigs, for those fresher branches which its venerable trunk is still
quite able to nourish, when relieved from the burden that was slowly yielding
to every storm, because its period of growth was past. (Selby’s History of
British Forest Trees, p. 92.)

Rabbits and Gamekeepers great Enemies to Woods. — Iwould recommend
all proprietors of woods, if they wish to see them thrive, entirely to suppress
the preservation of hares and rabbits; for they may rely upon it, there is not
a class of men who do their employers so much injury as keepers. In
the first place, they make a constant practice of gossiping with the men who
may be at work upon their estates, thereby robbing them of much labour ; and
they keep the minds of their employers constantly in a state of excitement,
rendering the improvement of woodland property almost impossible, by re-
presenting that this plantation must not be pruned, nor that wood felled, or
the game will all be driven away. (Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 214.)

Autumn Planting is strongly recommended, because the damage done to the
roots is repaired to a great extent ; not indeed, except in evergreens, by the
formation of new roots, but by the formation of granulations called a callus,
which act like roots, and infact are the commencement of those organs.
(Zbid., p. 715.)

On certain Species of European Pines ; by Capt. 8. E. Widdrington, R.N.:
read at the meeting of the British Association, held at Plymouth in August
last. — In this paper the author gives an account of his observations upon
pines, during a recent tour in Austria and Upper Germany.

Pinus austriaca, or nigréscens, partly covers the plain of Austria, S. and E. of
Vienna. It also occurs between Neustadt and the foot of the mountains that
divide Austria and Styria, and on the hills near Baden; but, in ascending the
range, it is soon displaced by the spruce and Scotch firs. Considering the
elevation and geography of these habitats, the author thought that it must
be placed in the zone below sylvéstris: at the same time there is no question
that it is sufficiently hardy to resist any cold to which it is liable to be exposed
in Great Britain. This species is very nearly connected with P. tatrica, or
Pallasiana. The foliage is scarcely to be distinguished ; but, on comparing the
cones of the two species as grown in the Botanic Garden at Vienna, the
author was struck with the difference in the ferm of the scales. From the
quick growth of this tree, the great beauty of its foliage, which is long, thick,
and tangled, and of the deepest green, as well as the great value of the tim-
ber, which the Austrian woodmen consider superior to that of P. sylvéstris,
it cannot be too strongly recommended to the attention of planters. It is
equally fitted for the forest or the park, for use or for ornament, and its deep
tints would form an admirable contrast with the light and transparent foliage
of the elegant Pinus hispanica; and it cannot be too generally used as a sub-
stitute for the Pinaster, which has rather unfortunately been tried in some
parts of the West of England, the timber of that species being comparatively
valueless, and in every other respect inferior to Pinus austriaca, The author
strongly urged on those who have the care of making fir plantations for future
utility, to plant the evergreens which are to remain at the requisite distances,
and to have the fillings up entirely of larch. He was of opinion that by
adopting this method, several advantages accrue. The woodmen make no

1841.— XII. 3d Ser. iG

640 General Notices.

mistakes in selecting during the process of thinning, and no spaces are left
too open or too close. The evergreens, which require more or less care when
young, are more readily looked after, and their places supplied where neces-
sary in case of failure. The larch should be planted a year or two before
the evergreens, by which time the grass is grown, and affords a shelter and
protection against the destruction of game, &c. The trifling difference in the
shelter between the evergreen and deciduous species is more apparent than
real, and is more than compensated by the superior value of the larch thin-
nings, and the additional fertility imparted to the soil by the fall of the leaves.
By having only a definite number of evergreens, the landlord can afford to
have better sorts, and expend more care upon the rearing them.

Penus pumilio.— The author had found the difficulty of obtaining information
respecting this curious tree so great, that if, from inspection of the beautiful
specimens at Dropmore, and in some other collections, he had not been satisfied
of its being a distinct species, he might, in the summary mode of compilers who
treat on trees they never saw in their native forests, have set it down as a “moun-
tain variety” of some other species. All doubt, however, on the subject his
late tour in Upper Germany has completely enabled him to remove. He first
met with it, though sparingly, in Upper Styria. In the Saltzkammergut it is
abundant, though high up, and above the Scotch and spruce, which form the
mass of the forests in that beautiful region. By far the largest portion was
met with in the Bavarian Alps, which it inhabits from the base almost to the
summit, and in every sort of ground. An extensive swamp, or morass,
adjoining the Chiemsee, the principal lake of Bavaria, is covered with it; and
the effect of its dwarf and even surface a few feet above the ground is curi-
ously contrasted with the lofty forests of spruce and Scotch fir which sur-
round the marsh‘wherever the ground is sufficiently dry to bear them. Although
it flourishes in this strange locality, where no other fir or scarcely any other
tree can exist, marshy ground is by no means its only or favoured habitat, In
the neighbouring mountains, where it is extremely abundant, the author found
it at the base of the chain. In the dry gravelly beds of the torrent, it gradually
creeps up the arid limestone to the very summit of the range which separates
Bavaria and the Austrian Tyrol, living up to the very limits of trees. When
seen in these situations from below, it could not by the unpractised eye be
distinguished from furze or gorse. The peculiar form of this tree consists in
its having no regular leader. Immediately above the ground it divides into a
number of smaller stems and branches, which either sweep along the ground,
their extremities pointing upwards or rising at once at an angle of 30° to 45°,
accordingly as the neighbourhood or the locality has permitted it to expand.
Occasionally, and amongst countless thousands, the author did not see above
one or two examples of an attempt to grow straight, and throw up a single
stem; but the failure of attaining size or elevation shows, in these instances,
the creeping and true habit of the tree. The height attained is rarely above
5 or 6 feet, the diameter of the largest trees being from 20 ft. to 25 ft., though
this size is rare ; and the appearance is so regular, that in looking over an ex-
tensive level planted with it, it is quite as even as the surface of a gorse cover.
The foliage in form and colour resembles that of P. uncinata, but the leaves
are shorter, though standing out in the peculiarly rigid manner of that species.
The cones are small, dark-coloured, and differ from both P. sylvéstris and P.
uncinata. From the localities it inhabits, it must be placed very high in the
series, by the side of P. Cémbra and P. uncinata. The author was the more
particular in describing this singular species, in order to guard those who may
not have the opportunity of seeing it i situ, from confounding it, as so many
have done, with the stunted individuals of P. Cémbra, P. sylvéstris, and P.
uncinata, which are always found at the summit of their respective zones in
the high Alps and Pyrenees, and have been confounded under the general
name of pumilio. As to the economical uses of this tree, it is clear they
amount to very little, its wood being only used for inlaying furniture, such
as backs of chairs and the like. To those, however, who possess extensive
parks, by planting them 15 ft. apart, and taking care of them during their

General Notices. 641

early growth, they would be curious and useful covers for game.” (Gard.
Chron., vol. i. p. 534.)

Shrubberies.—The prunings and leaves which drop should either be dug in,
or left to decay on the surface, and digging omitted, unless the object be to
stunt the shrubs. (Jdid., p. 6.)

Pruning and Lopping. — Close pruning and snag-lopping, leaving small
live shoots upon the snag, are recommended by Dr. Lindley (Jéid., p. 115.),
and close lopping by Professor Henslow. (Tbid., p. 131.)

Cedrus Deodara, the Deodar, or Holy Cedar of the Mountains, is a tree
as hardy and fast-growing as the larch, more valuable in its timber, and with
the evergreen beauty of the cedar of Lebanon. Of all trees of British India
this is incomparably the most important to England ; it has every good quality,
and no bad one. (Jdid., p. 699.)

Araucaria imbricata has been raised at Plymouth, by pricking the seeds into
the ground only a third of their Jength, with the narrow end downwards.
(Zbid., p. 293.) It has been raised in large quantities at Liverpool, and various
other places, and plants are now offered for sale by the 100, at very low prices.

Quércus fastigiata and Q. alba grow much better when grafted on the com-
mon oak, than when on their own roots. (7. Rivers, in Gard. Chron., vol.i.)

The Terms Red and White Oak are not applicable to two different species of
oak as such, but to two different states of either of the British species. (Gard.
Chron., vol. 1. p. 102.)

The Sweet Bay should never be cut down after it appears to be killed with
frost ; for it sometimes happens that its leaves, though hard, brown, dry, and
to all appearance dead, have gradually recovered their green colour, and even,
in some cases, been completely restored to life. (Zdid., p. 531.)

The Savine.—Juniperus Sabina is a splendid lawn plant, when left to take
its natural growth in an open space and kindly soil. A plant on my lawn,
25 years old, measures 22 yards in circumference. Its branches radiate from
a single stem, which is invisible in the centre, feathering all round, without gap
or blemish, down to the grass, and rising only about 3 ft. in the middle.
It is at all times a pleasing object; but in the spring, when it has put forth its
tender shoots, or in the autumn, when bespangled with dew, it is particularly
beautiful. (P. P., in Gard. Chron., vol. 1. p. 613.)

Rhus Cotinus, the Venetian Sumach.— A plant of this shrub, noticed in the
Gardener's Magazine for its beauty twelve years ago, now measures 70 ft. in
circumference at the extremities of the branches, and is strikingly handsome,
its feathery panicles being so numerous as almost to hide the foliage. These,
when they first expand, are of a yellowish green colour; but by exposure to
the sun they acquire a fine deep red tint on their upper sides, which adds
ereatly to their beauty as they droop in masses, or wave gracefully in the
wind. (J. B. Whiting, in Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 613.)

Birches, and other coppice woods, are said by Mr. Billington to push the
most vigorous shoots when cut in the sap when the bud is swelling. (Jd.
ibid., p. 565.) The experience of others, as well as theory, would lead to the
preference of autumn. : ;

Tree Guards.— A cheap and expeditious fence for protecting trees in
parks against deer, horses, &c., may be made as follows :— Provide some
stakes about the thickness of the wrist, 7 ft. in length, and tolerably straight ;
chop each a little flat on one side. Then get some iron hooping, a little
thicker than coopers are in the habit of using for barrels; punch holes
through it 6 in. apart (with one near each end); nail it to the stakes on
the chopped side, | ft. from the top of them, and 1 ft. from the bottom ;
then raise it and bend it circularly round the tree, observing that the hoops
are placed inside nearest the tree ; the holes left at each end of the hoop are
then clenched up with a nail, and the guard is complete. (W. Brown, in Gard.
Chron., vol. i. p. 26.) Stout wire is substituted for hoops in some parts of
Scotland.—Cond. — :

Tree Guards.— A cheap, light, but strong fence, to protect single trees from

an Get oy

642 General Notices.

cattle, &c. Provide stakes of larch, willow, or other round wood, rather
straight, 6 ft. long, and about 3 in. in diameter, making use of the waste ends
by cutting them into 3-inch pieces; then take rod iron in 6-feet lengths, turned
up | in. at one end and pointed at the other. Thus prepared, burn holes with
a piece of the iron rod through the stakes, 12 in. from top and bottom, in the
same direction ; and through the centre of the small 3-inch pieces from end to
end, having ten of each. Run the iron through them alternately, commencing
with a stake, ending with a3-inch piece; then bend the whole circularly round
the tree, tying it to the other side by twisting the spare iron rod (about 10 in.)
round the next stake. Thus any handy labourer may fence in trees in a simple
and durable manner. But experience has taught me to drive three larch
stakes, 3 ft. long, half-way into the ground, at equal distances, within the circle
of the guard, to keep it in an upright position, or else cattle will force it
against the trees, and the bark often gets injured by the upper part of the
guard. Bamboo cane makes a very ornamental fence as above, and in some
situations would be desirable. Trees should be strong, 8 or 10 feet high, and
well rooted, before they are planted out singly, and ought not te be cooped up
in large cumbrous cradles, as we often see, excluding rain and air. (H. Bowers,
Laleham, Gardener and Forester to the Earl of Lucan; in Gard. Chron. for
184.1, p. 365.)

Dr. Boucherie’s Mode of preserving Timber.—- The substance employed is im-
pure pyrolignite of iron; and the method of saturating timber with it is to take
advantage of the vital forces of a tree while in full vegetation, and to present
the pyrolignite to the lower extremity of the trunk, as if it were food to be
taken up into the circulation. Upon trial, this mode of impregnating the
trunk was found perfect, the pyrolignite rising rapidly through all the per-
meable parts of the timber up to the extremities. The method employed is
simple immersion of the lower end cut off, when small arms of trees are to be
operated upon; but when the weight of large timber trees prevents their
being so treated, without expensive tackle, the following contrivance has been
adopted :— At the ground line a hole is bored horizontally through the trunk,
so as to open a passage from side to side; a coarse-toothed saw is then
introduced into the hole, and worked right and left horizontally, till about
1 in. in thickness remains undivided on either side; by which means nearly all
the sap-vessels are cut through, and the trunk remains supported by two
opposite points. The wound is then carefully closed externally with pitched
cloth, except at one point, through which a pipe passes from a reservoir con-
taining the pyrolignite. A few days in the summer or autumn are sufficient to
saturate a large tree; for which purpose, pyrolignite to the amount of about
2, of the weight of the green wood is required. In France, the hoops of
wine casks are made from branches of sweet chestnut. Some casks hooped
with wood thus prepared, and others in the usual state, were placed side by
side in a damp cellar ; at the end of two years the natural hoops were rotten,
while those prepared were unchanged. Timber thus impregnated becomes so
hard and tough as to be very difficult to work. (Gard. Chron., vol. 1. p. 147.)
Subsequently, Dr. Boucherie succeeded in charging timber with his prepa-
rations during winter as well as summer. For this purpose, the timber is
cut into any lengths that may be convenient; to the upper end of each log a
water-proof funnel or bag is secured, into which the preserving fluid is poured.
The fluid forces before it all the sap and air that the wood contains, and with
considerable rapidity ; and when the preserving fluid makes its appearance at
the lower end, the operation is complete. (Jbid., p. 231.)

M. Biot, one of the most eminent of French men of science, thus expresses
himself on Dr. Boucherie’s experiments. After observing that they are
founded on the discoveries of Hales, of the ascent of liquids in vegetables by
the double power of suction belonging to their roots and the exhalation be-
longing to their foliage, he says,—‘“ In considerimg the woody tissue as a
natural mould, capable of being transformed by injection into a new body,
endowed with special qualities for practical uses, M. Boucherie has conceived

General Notices. 643

a very useful and beautiful idea, but much more difficult to realise than
operations purely chemical, because it applies to organised systems.” (Gard.
Chron., vol. i. p. 348.)

Dr. Boucherie’s Mode of increasing the Elasticity of Wood, and of diminishing
its Combustibility.— He found that these most important results could only be
arrived at by the use of a deliquescent salt. His experiments taught him that
the elasticity of wood is generally in proportion to the quantity of moisture it
contains, and that those qualities are universally lost when perfect dryness is
produced. Such cases as appear to form an exception to this rule, are either
dependent upon some particular structure of wood, or upon the alkaline salts
which it naturally contains. Muriate of lime, an exceedingly cheap deliques-
cent salt, was employed with perfect success: a weak solution increases the
elasticity and flexibility a little; concentrated solutions render those qualities
excessive. Veneers of pine-wood prepared with a concentrated solution of
muriate of lime became so pliable, that they could be twisted in any direction,
or bent into a perfect spiral, without giving way. It appears probable that the
same preparation will render wood durable; but, in the absence of proof of
this, a fifth part of pyrolignite is added to the muriate. The casting, splitting,
and shrinking of wood are all prevented by the same means; and, what is of
much greater moment, its combustible qualities are almost destroyed. Upon
this most interesting subject we quote the words of Dr. Boucherie. “ As
soon as I had discovered that a certain amount of moisture could be constantly
maintained in wood by the employment of the earthy muriates, it became easy
to conceive that by the same means I should not only diminish very consider-
ably its inflammability, but also render the combustion of its. charcoal difficult,
in consequence of the melting of the earthy salts at its surface and in its sub-
stance, and so itis. Wood prepared with these salts catches fire with great
difficulty, and burns to ashes excessively slowly ; so that it may be regarded,
for practical purposes, as incombustible. Two cottages (cabanes), exactly
alike, were constructed; the one with prepared, the other with unprepared
wood. To set them on fire, an equal quantity of combustibles was employed.
The latter was burnt to ashes, while the inside of the other was hardly charred,
the fire having been unable to maintain itself. These and other facts lead us
to conclude that conflagrations might be rendered almost impossible, except in
consequence of the inflammable materials that houses may contain.” (did.
vol. i. p. 147.)

Sir W. Burnett’s. Mode of preserving Timber is considered to be as effective
as Dr. Boucherie’s. The substance used is a chloride of zinc, which, applied
to vegetable tissue, is found to protect it against all the ordinary causes of
destruction without communicating any bad property to the substance ope-
rated on. It has been found particularly effectual in the preservation of canvass,
and might doubtless be employed to increase the durability of garden mats,
and probably, also, of thatch for cottages. (Jdid., p. 411.)

Fastening down Plants in Flower-Beds. — Instead of pegs, Mr. Beaton
employs matting cut into lengths of 4 in., and these divided into three or
four pieces: he doubles these pieces round the shoots, and fastens the ends of
the matting in the soil with a small dibber. In this way, he says, a boy or a
woman may train and tie down all the plants in a flower-garden in less time
than it would require to procure pegs, while the work is much more neatly
done than if the best pegs had been used. (Jdid., p. 430.) _

Growing Annuals in Pots.— Fill the pot to about one third or one half of
its depth with wet moss, pressed very close, and over that put rich light soil, in
which the annual seeds are to be sown, or young plants are to be pricked out.
Place the pot in a saucer, and supply water to it. The moss absorbs the
water freely, and parts with it slowly. (Zdid., p. 484.)

Budding Roses. — The bud for insertion is taken off the shoot very close to
the eye; the tip or part of the bark below the bud is cut off quite close, to
allow the bud to be pushed closer into the stock without being bruised. ° It
then requires only to be tied above the bud, and a composition applied to

GOB)

644 General Notices.

exclude the air and keep the bud cool, consisting of two thirds cow-dung and
one third stiff loam. The bud requires no untying, and gradually grows so
closely into the stock as hardly to be distinguished from a shoot, and is not so
liable to be blown out or injured. The composition is applied in a liquid
state, with a small brush. (Henry Curtis, in Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 453.)

Pruning Roses.— The large showy roses that flower in June and July should
be pruned in February. As many of the strongest young shoots as the tree is
capable of supporting should be left, and the rest cut out ; the branches left
for flowering should be shortened back about one third, and those intended for
next year’s wood to about three buds. By this method of pruning I have
many roses with shoots from 3 ft. to 6 ft. long, covered with blossom-buds.
Those standards which have long shoots are hooped over each other, and pro-
duce a beautiful effect. Those dwarfs that admit of it have their shoots pegged
down, or, if planted close together, they are intertwined, and thus the ground
is covered with roses: if a little attention is paid to colour, a very pleasing
effect may be produced. The young shoots intended for the next season are
allowed to grow erect; and have the full influence of light and air. My reasen
for this kind of pruning is, that, as rose trees usually begin to grow early, the
first 12 in. of a shoot 3 ft. long are produced when the soil is moist and the
sun has but little power ; the second 12 in. are added when the soil is becom-
ing drier, and the sun has greater influence, in June, July, and August, and on
this part of the shoot the best flower-buds are formed ; the last growth takes
place in the autumn, when the days decrease in length, and consequently this
part of the shoot is not well matured. Roses should always be thinned in
summer, to increase the strength of those shoots intended to produce flowers
next season. In November I cut back the arched branches, and cover the
ground with a coat of well rotted dung, and in the spring peg down the young
shoots, as above described. (R. Arnott, in Gard. Chron., vol.i. p. 117.)

Propagation of Pinks. —The pink is propagated by Mr. Mearns, something
after the manner in which he coils the vine. He makes the soil much firmer
than is usually done in the general manner of piping. “ I do not use a dibber
to plant with, but my fore-finger. I lay the lower end of my slip horizontally
upon the surface of the soil, and so press it down into it; when, from the
firumess of the soil, the slip is compelled to clip round the end of the finger,
with the other hand I turn up the top to its perpendicular, and press the
lower end down till the tail is about half an inch beneath the soil; I then make
the soil firm, and the operation is complete. If the slips are too long, I cut
them up to a joint, to a suitable length. I have slipped off hundreds, and
have not even cut off the rag left on in slipping, and by the above process not
one cutting has failed ; yet it is better that the ragged end be cut off, either
with a sharp knife or with scissors, which is generally the most expeditious
method. I planted 1700 slips this last season, not twenty of which missed,
and all my plants are firm and stocky.” (Jdid., p. 19.)

Culture of the Amaryllis,— Directions are commonly given to repot the
plants as soon as they show flower, or before they begin to grow. “ When
first I cultivated amaryllis I pursued this plan, to the destruction of many of
my bulbs, and whenever I have recurred to it since, or seen it tried by others,
the same effect, either of complete or partial decay, has followed. If ama-
ryllis be shifted into fresh pots, either soon after the leaves die off, or just
before they begin to grow, the whole of the young roots perish, and decay so
begun extends to the coats of the bulbs, forming a canker which it is almost
impossible to cure. The management which I should recommend is in-
variably to repot such bulbs as require it when their foliage is in full vigour
or still growing, say in June or July, or earlier, according to the treatment
they have received. When the foliage dies at the tips, water should be gra-
dually withheld, and the bulbs kept dry till the flower-buds appear. When
the stem is half-grown water may be administered very moderately, but the
plant should not have much till its leaves are 6in. long.’ (Gard. Chron.,
vol. i. p. 629.)

Oe ee ea

General Notices. 645

Crénum capénse is a hardy amphibious bulb, strongly recommended by Mr.
Herbert for covering smali islands, as affording by its abundant arched foliage
the best possible covert for wildfowl, and producing an abundant succession
of beautiful flowers throughout the summer, and even the autumn. This
plant is equally capable of flowering and ripening its seed, when planted in a
border, or 2 ft. under the surface of the water, but thrives best in a border
with abundance of water, or in a rainy season. It would be best planted a
little above the level of the water. The seed sprouts as soon as it is ripe,
and the young plants should be sheltered in pots the first and second winter,
and then planted out, taking care that the weeds do not smother them while
young. The bulbs, when full-grown, are so hardy, that, although they are
natives of the Cape of Good Hope, I have had the neck of one, which had
been left standing in water, imprisoned in ice 2 or 3 inches thick for a fort-
night, without injury to the plant. Nursery gardeners might easily raise it
from seed to sell it by the hundred. (Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 581.)

Roscoea purpurea has for many years been cultivated in the open air in the
Edinburgh Botanic Garden, with no other protection than a little tan thrown
over the border in winter. (Jdid., p. 149.)

The Marchioness of Exeter Camellia is the finest variety in cultivation
The flowers are between 5in. and 6 in. in diameter, and very regularly
double. The colour is a bright deep rose. Raised from seed of Middlemist’s
by James Priaulx, Esq., of Guernsey. (Tbid., p. 215.)

Salvia patens, with its deep blue flowers, makes a splendid bed when pegged
down, and the flower-spikes pinched off till the shoots nearly cover the bed.
(J. B. Whiting, in Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 582.)

Abttilon striatum strikes throughout the winter from two joints in two or
three weeks: 150 plants were obtained from one in a single winter by John
Halliday. (Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 213.)

Abutilon vidzfolium has lived out of doors through the last severe winter in
the neighbourhood of London. (Tbdid., p. 246.)

Fichsia discolor, in Norfolk, and even in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh,
becomes a shrub 4 or 5 feet high, uninjured except by very severe weather.
(ibid., p. 596.)

Physianthus albicans, which will cover many yards of wall in a short time,
has the remarkable property of catching moths. The moth is held fast by the
pressure of the cartilaginous anther upon the proboscis, which is inserted be-
tween it and the stigma. (Tbid., p. 685.)

O’xalis Acetosélla, or wood sorrel, makes an excellent edging for shaded
walks. It requires no cutting, except to keep it within bounds, and for that
once a year will suffice. (Zdid., p. 685.)

Canker in Fruit Trees is often produced by heading them down in spring,
while it does not occur if that operation have been performed in autumn, If
the operation of lopping off the branches preparatory to grafting is deferred
till spring, the sap being then in brisk motion, bleeding, or an extravasation
of sap, takes place, which deluges the scion, and as the sap becomes chemically
changed or decomposed it kills the alburnum, often to a considerable extent,
along the stump on which the scion is placed; whilst the sudden privation of
circulating sap, by lopping, deranges the economy of the remaining portion of
the plant. Such limbs as are to be grafted should be decided upon long
before the season for performing the operation; they should be shortened
before the commencement of vegetation, as in the case of pruning, to within
a little of the place where the graft is intended to be placed. No harm will
be done by taking off a little more, so as to make a fresh section, at the time
of grafting. By following these directions the process of healing, instead of
decay, will proceed with the advance of vegetation. (Jbid., p. 629.)

Vines are made to break by turning out the shoots through holes in the
front lights. First turn out the whole shoot, except 2 or 3feet at the
lower end. Then, after forcing has been commenced, and the buds on that

TT 4

646 : General Notices.

part of the shoot which is within the house have developed, draw in two or
three joints more till the buds on these are developed, and so on, until the
whole of the shoot has been introduced. (Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 614.)

Preservation of Grapes. —When grapes hang long on the vines they prevent
them from being pruned ; but that it is quite possible to keep grapes im as
high a state of preservation as when left on the vines, if not more so, I have
proved by the adoption of the following method. In the last week in De-
cember, or first week in January, I prune the last house of grapes, which were
ripe in September, and cut the whole of the grapes remaining, with a joint or
two, or more, of wood below the bunch. I make a clean cut, and apply
sealing-wax, as hot as can be used, to it, and seal the wood closely, so that no
air can enter the tissues communicating with the bunch. I then hang the
bunches up on cords suspended across a closet in a cool airy room, taking
care that they do not touch each other, and after this they are cut down as
wanted. In this way the White Muscat of Alexandria was kept in 1840,
until the latter part of May: of course they were slightly shriveled, yet not
so much as they would have been had they remained on the vines. In 1841,
Black Lombardy, Black Hamburgh, and White Muscat of Alexandria were
kept until the fifth of February, in an excellent state of preservation, most of
the berries being quite plump and firm. To succeed, much depends on the
situation where the grapes are preserved ; they must not be exposed to a
current of warm air, nor yet be so damp as to cause mould. The bunches
being well sealed is a most important point to be attended to. (G. G.
Watson, in Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 663.)

Mr. Hayward’s Manure for Grapes.—I have tried a great variety of
compounds as food, and have found that one quart of cider or cider grounds,
added to two gallons of water, brings a grape vine to a more perfect prolific
state than any thing else. This mixture must be supplied in such quantity as
will saturate the earth, like water, to the depth of the roots, and all over the
surface occupied by the roots. It must only be given once in the year; and, if
repeated the second year, its good effects will be sustained for several years
afterwards without further supplies. The apple and pear, and the fig, are
alike benefited by this compound. (Jdid., p. 413.)

Keeping Fruit, — R. Tongue observes, “if you wish to mature your fruit
for immediate use, put it into heaps that it may sweat, and your object will be
attained ; but, should you desire to keep your fruit a long time, place it in an
underground room, one apple or pear deep, upon shelves of flag or slate, or
any other material which will rapidly conduct away the heat generated in the
fruit durmg its sweating, or which will check its fermentation, so as to
postpone its decay.” (Lbid., p. 717.)

Raspberries have grown fifteen years on the same spot, and continued in
high bearing. (Jdid., p. 213.)

Thinning Pears, and even apples, when the fruit is set, and again in July or
later, is strongly recommended (Jéid., p. 37.) ; and again by Mr. Whiting
(Zbid., p. 69.).

The Scale on Peach Trees may be destroyed by painting them over with
diluted clay when the buds are beginning to swell. Two coats of the paint
will be necessary, and the trees should be covered during rains for a fortnight.
When the clay drops off it will bring all the scale with it. (John Kyle, in
Gard. Chron., vol.i. p. 70.)

Preserving Pears on the Trees. — Pears have been preserved on dwarf
trees by matting up, as is done with currants and gooseberries, by Mr. Crace
of St. John’s Wood. In this way Marie Louise pears were kept in perfection
till Christmas. (Gard. Chron., vol.i. p. 5 and 6.)

Wild Crab Apples exist in two distinct forms in our hedges ; one pubescent
and the other perfectly glabrous. The latter is supposed by Ray to be the
effect of a certain degree of cultivation. (Leighton’s Flora of Shropshire, p. 199.)
_ Pears. — The wide departure of many varieties of pear from their usual
period of ripening is noticed in detail by Mr. Rivers, who recommends

General Notices. G47

Hacon’s Incomparable as an excellent winter pear, which produces better
fruit on a standard than against a wall. (Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 20.)

Keeping Apples and Pears. — Apples and pears are kept better in a cool
cellar with a humid atmosphere than in a perfectly dry fruit-room. Apples
exhale a sort of natural varnish sufficient to exclude all moisture, and which
checks the too rapid perspiration of the fruit. (Idid., p. 701.)

Packing Fruit for Carriage. —“ 1 beg leave to suggest the following plan,
which is found_better than any other for insuring the safe transport of delicate
philosophical instruments, and is equally adapted to ripe fruit. Having
packed the fruit in an inner case with soft cotton, or whatever may be deemed
best for the purpose, let that inner case be suspended within an outer one
by lines or cords. Suppose, for instance, that the outer case is 2 or 3
inches clear all round the inner case, and the eight cords proceeded from the
eight outer corners of the one, and were fastened to the eight internal corners
ofthe other case. In this way, whatever side was uppermost, the inner case
would be suspended from the four upper cords, the four lower ones serving
only to steady it, and to prevent its swinging against the outer case. If the
whole be turned upside down, the functions of the cords become reversed, so
that they must all be strong enough to perform either office, about which,
however, there is no difficulty. Ihave bestowed great attention on all the
known modes of checking vibration, and have no hesitation in recommend-
ing this as incomparably superior to any stuffing of moss, hay, or shavings;
and it may, perhaps, have the additional merit of preventing the chance of
imparting unpleasant flavour, which might arise from a compact mass of
vegetable matter between the two cases. It is not essential to use exactly
eight cords, nor to fasten them from angle to angle of the cases. Any
arrangement by which the inner case is suspended, and, at the same time, pre-
vented from swinging against the outer case, will equally well answer the pur-
pose. A still better plan, for those who have frequently very choice specimens
of fruit to transmit, would be, to insulate the inner case by spiral springs, with
the addition of small portions of felt or woollen cloth, to limit the vibrations,
on the same principle as my supports for microscopes ; the springs would be
very cheaply made, and would avoid the repeated trouble of packing or tying;
but the cords will do extremely well.” (A. Ross, Regent Street ; in Gard.
Chron., vol. i. p. 485.)

Roots of Fruit Trees. — The roots of all fruit trees should be kept as near
the surface of the ground as possible, in order that they may profit by the
warmth of the sun and a free communication with the atmosphere. (Gard.
Chron., vol.i. p. 21.)

The Spanish Filbert does not throw up suckers, and Mr. Rivers has sug-
gested the idea of grafting the common filbert on it. (Jdid., p. 69.)

Gooseberries are recommended to be grown below some higher grounds, so
that they may have the benefit of the water that comes down from above.
This shrub, to bear large fruit, requires a warm and rich soil, well supplied
with moisture from below, and a situation sheltered from the wind, and having
the full benefit of the sun. The watering-pot is of little use to gooseberry
bushes, if they have no other supply. (Jéid., vol. i. p. 613.)

Gooseberry Cuttings of winter’s wood always succeed best when the articu-
lation, or socket which joins the young branch to the old, is pulled out along
with the cutting when separated from the bush. The buds should all be taken
off, except from four to six atthe top of the shoot. (2. Lymburn, in Gard.
Chron., vol. i. p. 486.) :

The Club in the Cabbage Tribe has been prevented by filling the dibble holes
with quicklime before inserting the plants. Planting in dry soil, and not
giving water, appear also to be more or less a preventive, because the
insect which produces the club chooses moist ground in which to deposit its
ege, (Gard. Chron., vol.i. p. 717.) To prevent the club in cabbages : — Take
1 gallon of fresh soot and Ilb. of pounded saltpetre, mix them with water to
the consistence of coal tar; dip the root of every plant in before planting. By

648 Foreign Notices : — Germany.

this simple method J have not got a single club-rooted plant in the garden,
although many of them had begun to club in the seed-bed. (G. Helder, in Gard.
Chron., vol. i. p. 662.) Clubbing in the Brassica tribe is prevented by putting
a little quicklime in the hole while planting. (Z. Hislop, ibid., vol. i. p. 613.)

Asparagus is blanched by covering with sand by Mr Buchan at Blythfield,
who finds the branch part more tender, the colour more delicate, and the
flavour improved; nor are the plants so liable to rot in winter as when
the beds are covered to a great depth with dung and soil. (Gard. Chron.,
vol. i. p. 86.) Sand laid over the drills of newly sown peas from 2 in. to Lin.
in thickness, is an effectual remedy against mice, and also small snails. (Jdid.,
[De LOE)

O’xalis Déppei has been cultivated in Belgium for culinary purposes. The
young leaves are dressed like sorrel, in soup, or as a vegetable; they have a
fresh and agreeable acid, especially in spring. The flowers are excellent in
salad alone, or mixed with corn salad, endive of both kinds, red cabbage, beet
root, and even with the petals of the dahlia, which are delicious when thus
employed. When served at table, the flowers, with their pink corolla, green
calyx, yellow stripes, and little stamens, produce a very pretty effect. The
roots are taken up in September or October, and preserved through
winter in a cool cellar. They are gently boiled with salt and water, after
having been washed and slightly peeled ; they are then eaten like asparagus,
in the Flemish fashion, with melted butter and the yolks of eggs. They are
also served up like scorzonera and endive, with white sauce. They form, in
whatever way they are dressed, a tender, succulent dish, easy to digest, and
agreeing with the most delicate stomach. The analogy of the root with salep
indicates that its effect should be excellent upon all constitutions. (Professor
4Worren, in Gard. Chron., vol. i. p. 68.)

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is recommended as a perennial spinach plant ;
and the young shoots, blanched by being forced to grow through loose soil, as
a substitute for asparagus. (Gard. Chron., vol. i. p- 262.)

Victoria Rhubarb can be gathered, in a young and tender state, in much
greater bulk when forced, than in the case of other varieties. (Jdid., p. 167.)

Myatt’s Pine Strawberry Mr. Lymburn found to grow profusely on light, rich,
sandy, alluvial soils near the sea, where other strawberries are apt to throw
out too many runners. (Jdid., p. 550.) About London it is very difficult
either to grow or fruit.

Fuchsia filgens produces fruit not unlike a small gherkin, which, when
quite ripe, turns to a pale yellow, and comes off at a touch. “ They are,
to my taste,” says Mr. Herbert, ‘‘as good as any grapes, except the high-
flavoured sorts of muscat.” (Ibid., p. 685.)

Trifolium incarnatum is found of great value in filling up blanks in fields of
common clover. Examine the field immediately after the corn crop, among
which the clover is sown, is cut and carried, sow 7’. incarnatum in the blanks,
and hoe, rake, or harrow it, as most convenient. (Jbid., p. 645.) -

Art. II. Foreign Notices.

GERMANY.

LOouIsAINE, near Dessau.— On the 18th of December last the duke’s garden
here sustained great damage from a tremendous storm. A great many trees,
particularly of the genus Pinus, were either torn up by the roots, or had their
branches broken. The tree which suffered the most was the largest and finest
of the scarlet oaks (Quéreus coccinea Wangenh.) : it was thrown down, and
completely uprooted. This magnificent tree was one of the largest, if not the
very largest, in this part of the country, and, perhaps, in all Germany. It
measured 90ft. in height; its circumference, at 6 ft. from the ground, was 44
ells; and at the height of 43 ft., where the stem divided into two principal

Foreign Notices : — Germany. 649

branches, it measured 3 ells. I cannot exactly tell its age, but it must have
been between sixty and seventy years old; because it, and several other large
specimens in this garden, and also in the garden at Worlitz, were planted
among the very first in Germany by the never to be forgotten Duke Francis,
the then wise regent of Anhalt-Dessau. It was a very splendid beautifully
grown tree, with a most magnificent head, which made a great resistance
against the storm ; and it certainly would have withstood the shock, had its
stem not received a severe injury, near the root, some years before. It grew
on a small elevation, near a pond, in a strong and productive soil, composed
of loam and marly clay. (4. Richter, Court Gardener.)

Extracts from the Epistolary Correspondence of Edward Otto, during his
Voyage to Cuba, and his Abode there. (Continued from p. 525.)— On the 5th
of January we arrived safe in the harbour of Havanna; and what a delight it
is for those who have been floating on the ocean for more than two months
again to behold the land! More particularly so for me, as the treasures of
the tropical world here presented themselves ; and, although we could dis-
tinguish groups of trees on the coast of St. Domingo and the south coast of
Cuba, by the help of the telescope, we now saw with the naked eye, and in
their native soil, the lofty palm and the flowering agave. All the incon-
veniences of a long voyage were now forgotten; but we were obliged to
remain three days on board, till we got permission to land, on account of the
necessary investigation into the health of the crew; and this was delayed one
day on account of the intervening Sunday. Who could have found fault
with us, if, on presenting the guard with half a dollar, and the promise of
returning to the ship before nightfall, we had, without this permission, got our
unconquerable desire gratified by setting our foot again on dry land? The
harbour, the view of the city and the hills lying behind it, however splendid
they might be, did not please us long; the merchantmen, the French ships of
war, which came here with the sick or wounded from St. Juan d’ Ulloa, and
also our nearest neighbour, the Prince de Joinville, were not sufficient to
amuse us: we felt we must, with or without permission from the authorities,
get on shore.

A Spaniard, who spoke both French and English, conducted me, on the
8th of January, to the governor of the island. The general received me in
the most friendly manner, conversed with me more than half an hour in the
French language, and then gave directions to his secretary to write out for us
a passport, which would remove all difficulties during our excursions through-
out the island. Permission was then given to have our luggage on shore; and
it passed with but little trouble at the custom-house, as, of about thirty
packages, only three were opened. ‘

We next began to think of a lodging; and the room in the inn which we
selected had no windows, instead of which there was a hole with a grating,
and a shutter to cover it. Glass windows are not in use here, and even cup-
boards and chests of drawers seem not to be known, as the apartment only
contained a bed, a table, and some chairs. It was an agreeable surprise to
find that our landlady spoke both French and English, as we were obliged to
make our way with these languages; German being only spoken by a few
Germans who had settled here, and the language of the country, a dialect
certainly of the Spanish, and which I began with assiduity to study, being,
to speak proverbially, really Spanish to me*; and the negroes only pay
attention to expressive signs and blows, to which I have not yet become
accustomed. ,

Immediately on entering the town we were struck with the sepulchral
monument of Columbus, situated in a beautiful square, where his corpse was

* When a thing is very difficult, or cannot be understood, it is common in
Germany to say, “ Hs kommt mir Spanisch vor.’ “It is Spanish to me.”—
Translator.

650 Foreign Notices : — Germany.

brought by sea to find terrestrial repose. It is ornamented with a most
beautiful specimen of Oreod6xa regia, and a Cocos nucifera. The square is
regularly divided into compartments by broad paths laid with flat stones; and
planted with Citrus and Nérium Oleander, some oreodoxas, cocos, Artocarpus
incisa about 30 ft. high with an immense head, and a species of Bombax
from 60 to 70 feet high, and 6 ft. in diameter at a foot from the ground,
cassias and mimosas, and several other trees apparently unknown to me. On
perambulating the town, I found it very large, and regularly built; the
houses one and two stories high, and no paved streets, but only a cause-
way. From the great number of shops, in which all kinds of objects can be
purchased, the town has quite a European appearance; and it is only the
smell of dried meat and fish, the same odour which is emitted from the abodes
of the negroes, that destroys the illusion.

It is natural to suppose that I went as soon as I could to visit the botanic
garden here, which is managed by a M. Pedro Auber, by birth a French-
man. If I had not been told it was a botanic garden, I should rather have
taken it for a nursery of different kinds of trees. It is divided by broad
paths, many of which are so wet and marshy that you can hardly find a firm
place to set your foot on. From what the governors told me, the garden is at
present on the decline, but they hope soon to bring it into a more creditable
state. Its greatest ornament is one which is wanting in all European gardens,
viz. a splendid avenue of oreodoxas, and of these there are about eighty in
each row, 70 or 80 feet in height, and covered with blossom and fruit: and
not less beautiful are the rows of Casuarina equisetifolia véra, called here the
cedar. There are also beautiful specimens of Cocos nucifera, Phoe‘nix dacty-
lifera, a fan palm unknown to me, Cycas revoluta, Citrus, Laurus, cassias,
mimosas, Bambusa arundinacea in extremely high hedges, splendid specimens
of Artocarpus incisa; clusias, probably alba and rosea; several species of
Sida; large surfaces covered with Pothos, Caladium bicolor, and other Aroidez.
The trees are entwined by convolvuluses and ipomeas. The Huphorbia pul-
chérrima, with its innumerable blossoms and beautiful red bracteas, the Canna
{ndica, and several other species, are here seen growing in the deepest
marshes; also the most formidable hedges of opuntias, yuccas, and agaves.
Greenhouses and hotbeds are nowhere to be seen in the garden; and there
are but a very few plants in pots, such as Orchidez and euphorbias, which
did not look well; and, besides the opuntias, only the Cereus speciosissimus
and triangularis are in the garden. Our simple balsams, T’gefes patula, and
other Mexican summer flowers, were seen here and there among the trees ;
and this was all M. Auber, with the most friendly feeling and unlimited
goodwill, had to offer me.

On the same side of the city is situated the Pasco de Tacon, so named
after the late Governor Tacon, who, however, only got it made at the public
expense ; and it is, indeed, a very large public promenade. — It consists of a
carriage way 2560 ft. long, 40 ft. broad in the centre for carriages, and 26 ft.
broad at each side for foot passengers. The whole descends from both ends
to the middle, so that a general view is obtained from the two extremities.
There is a circular piece of ground at the entrance, surrounded by a wall 5 ft.
high, and the gate is guarded by two marble lions. In the centre of this
circle stands a statue of Charles IIL, with the following inscription: “ A
Carlos III., el Pueblo de la Habana, anno MDCCCIII.” From this circle
you proceed to the avenue; and at about 600 ft. distance there is another
circle, surrounded by two rows of beautiful lofty Casuarina equisetifolia, and
in the centre a pillar 20 ft. high, on a pediment 10/t. high. After another
space of 600 ft., you find a similar circle ornamented with a basin and foun-
tains, and a pedestal with five urns and four marble figures. The avenue is
twice more divided in this manner, with 300 ft. and 260 ft. between the
circles; and at the other end is one similar to that at the entrance, with a
pillar 40 ft. high in the centre; and the gate is ornamented with two urns,
24 ft. in height, standing on pedestals. The trees in the avenue are Aleurites
triloba, several species of Ficus, Phyllanthus, and Cedréela. There are stone

;
f
.
t
:
:
:

Domestic Notices : — England. 651

seats, and others of turf, among the trees ; and a beautiful hedge of splendid
monthly roses forms the limit of the promenade. Large stones are laid down
by the pedestal of the column in the last circle, among which thrive luxuriantly
Adiantum formdsum, Pothos crassinérvis, A‘rum discolor, and several others.
On the left of this Pasco there is a railroad, not quite finished ; and on the
right are fields and gardens, in which there are several beautiful specimens of
oreodoxas, Phee‘nix dactylifera, and Pandanus utilis, giving a splendid cha-
racter to the landscape. An avenue leads from the former-mentioned circle
to a house on the right, the preperty of the late governor, and laid out in the
English style, with a boundary, like the other, of a hedge of roses; and in the
avenue are icus populifolia, Mangifera indica, Aleurites triloba, with Neérium
spléndens flore albo et roseo standing between. The garden cannot be
called large, but has a path 300 ft. long, beautifully ornamented with hedges
of roses and Mamméa americana on both sides. The orange trees, being in
blossom, delighted me with their fragrant perfume, and the luxuriant growth
of the following plants quite enchanted me ; viz. Hibiscus Rosa sinénsis, Del-
phinium sinénse, Huphorbia pulchérrima, Tradescdntia discolor, Nérium
spléndens, Clusia alba, sophoras, mimosas, Citrus myrtifolia, pomegranates,
Pandanus utilis, Hedychium, Canna, and cypresses. On ascending the height
before the outlet-door ¢ (ausgangsthore) of the Pasco, on which are a castellated
building and a powder magazine, a most delightful view is obtained over the
city and the sea, the hills on the right and left, and the Pasco in front, from
which a long bridge leads to the city over a valley where no water flows.

The Pasco, at five and six o’clock in the evening, is the rendezvous of all
the fairin Havanna. Attired in the most elegant ball costumes, they drive
up and down in their two-wheeled carriages, drawn by one horse, and a smartly
dressed negro sits upon the horse. The carriages are always in four rows,
two coming and two going. There are generally three ladies in one vehicle,
and they are very seldom accompanied by a gentleman. However simple the
whole may appear from description, | must confess that so many carriages
rattling along among the foot-passengers haye a very lively appearance. The
show and splendour, however, accord with the high price of every necessary
of life, and it even far surpasses that of London. Half a real is the smallest
coin in use; and I paid, in the cheapest inn I could find, 24 dollars and 8
reals daily for my room, bed, breakfast, and dinner. A strong healthy man
would not find it difficult to consume here as much bread alone, daily, as
would procure him with us a substantial and excellent dinner or supper.
From previous agreement, I was obliged to pay twenty dollars a month for the
washing of my body linen, But should I make complaints when all my expenses
are so liberally defrayed? I only hope that my exertions during this journey
for the cause of science may be found useful, in proportion to the encourage-
ment afforded me; and in this hope I now begin to set out on my excursions
through theisland, (Garten Zeitung.)

Art. III. Domestic Notices.

ENGLAND.

GEESE destroyed by eating Monk’s-hood.—What I am going to state is nothing
about the long life of a gander, or the wonderful attachment which a goose
has been known to show towards her master, but merely that a friend of mine
had six geese poisoned by eating the roots of Aconitum Napéllus (monk’s-
hood); three died, the others were saved by disgorging the contents of their
crops, which led to the discovery of their having eaten the roots. This cir-
cumstance shows how careful poultry-keepers ought to be, not to suffer
monk’s-hood to grow where their fowls frequent. Although the instinct of
birds is wonderful, yet what I have just stated shows that they, like quadru-
peds, will eat what is fatal to them.

652 Domestic Notices : — Scotland.

Instinct of Pigeons. Speaking of the instinct of birds brings to mind that
once I had a pair of pigeons of the croper kind froma friend. I confined them
about a month, with the view of breaking off the thoughts of their former home,
but as soon as they had their liberty they flew towards their old habitation; the
hen arrived immediately, but, strange to say, her mate did not till two years
afterwards. No doubt he was im confinement during that time. The flight
to their old place was only 44 miles, but what seems curious is, that a pigeon
should recollect it after two years’ absence.

Habit or Instinct of the Virginian Nightingale. 1 may add that a gentleman
told me his Virginian nightingale imitated feeding its brood in the spring. I
know of no instance of ornithologists noticing such a thing, but it is a
question whether it be instinct or merely mechanical. If the bird had never
assisted in rearing, I should say instinct, but otherwise mechanical, from
former habits, perhaps in its native haunts. Many of our own movements, as
well as those of birds, especially domesticated ones, are the effects of habit. —
J. Wighton, Cossey Gardens, Sept. 24, 1841.

SCOTLAND.

Rhododéndron anthopogon D.Don, Arb. Brit. vol. ii. p. 1148. fig. 954. —- This
shrub has lately flowered in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, and in great
vigour at Dysart House. At this place, which we had the high gratification
of seeing in September last, the Countess of Rosslyn has taken great pains to
form an unusually extensive collection of the different species and superb va-
rieties of Rhododéndron ; and, placed under the judicious management of the
gardener, Mr. Blair, they thrive and flower in a manner not surpassed in any
collection in Britain. Among these the rare species now described forms a
dense bush. It was obtained from Messrs. Loddiges five years ago, and during
each of the last three years it has flowered in the open border, abundantly in
April, and partially in August. I am not aware that it has flowered anywhere
else in Scotland. It is a native of the Himalaya Mountains, and extends, as
we are informed by Dr. Royle, along the range from Nepal to Cashmere,
never descending lower than 9,000 ft. above the level of the sea, but rising to
an elevation exceeding 14,000 ft., with the last remains of wvody plants ;
Rhododéndron lepidotum and Salix Lindleydna alone being found in company
with it. (Dr. Graham, in Edin. Phil. Jour., Oct. 1841, p. 395.)

An Agricultural Museum is about to be established in Glasgow, on the
same general plan as those in Stirling, Perth, and Edinburgh. Messrs.
Drysdale and Lawson, seedsmen in Glasgow, are announced as the “ interim
secretaries and curators,’ to whom donations of every kind may be sent;
and the patrons are Lord Belhaven and Sir John Maxwell, Bart., of Pollock.

The “ King’s Knote ” at Stirling.— A rumour has reached us, to the effect
that propositions have been made to level the “ King’s Knote,” or round
table, which adorns the royal park at Stirling, and transform it into a modern
ornamental garden. The deed, if done, would be regarded as an act of
Gothic barbarity by every lover of antiquity in Scotland. But we are well
aware that such a proposition needs only seriously to be made to be almost
universally scouted. This round table is unique of its kind in the northern
part of the kingdom, and the round and oblong circles which are clearly de-
fined, point out the place of royalty, and call to mind the times when deeds
of courtesy and chivalry were here enacted under the eye of the princely
James and the fair ones of his court, who, from the “ Ladies’ Rock,” looked
down upon the gay scene below. “Gray Stirling,’ with her towers, and
town, and park, are classic ground, and have afforded materials for many a
noble measure, from the days of quaint Sir David Lindsay to those of the
lamented bard of Abbotsford. We should, therefore, look with honest
horror on any attempt to disfigure one tittle of these olden landmarks by
modern gewgaws. (Glasgow Herald.)

We were informed, when lately at Stirling, that it was the intention of the
“Woods and Forests” to lay out some public walks in the neighbourhood

ee eee a

Retrospective Criticism. 653

of the town, and that the space occupied by these and the accompanying
plantations would include the “ King’s Knote ;” but we have no idea that
this would involve the destruction of this very curious piece of antiquarian
gardening. On the contrary, the “ Knote” would form an interesting feature
in the walks, more especially if the partially obliterated parts were restored.
We are further informed that the plantations proposed to be made along the
walks would probably include a collection of all the trees and shrubs that
would endure the climate; in short, that it would be an arboretum. The
plan, we believe, was formed by the Messrs. M‘Nab of Edinburgh, and the
circumstance of employing these gentlemen on such an occasion does great
credit to the Office of Woods. To return to the “ Knote,” the Messrs.
Drummond of the justly celebrated Agricultural Museum of Stirling kindly
undertook, in August last, to have the Knote surveyed, and a plan and sec-
tions made out for us, engravings from which we shall publish in the course
of our tour which will be commenced with our volume for 1842.— Cond,

Art. IV. Retrospective Criticism.

RoorTine Cuttings in Charcoal, and sowing Seeds in Snow. (p. 152. 219. 252,
302. and 304.) — We are glad to find this practice beginning to attract atten-
tion in this country as well as in Germany. A writer in the Gardener’s
Chronicle, who had recently visited Munich, makes the following observations
on what he saw in the royal gardens there. We would strongly recommend
gardeners to try powdered charcoal simply as a substitute for sand in striking
cuttings ; and again, mixed with soil for growing plants, as practised by
M. Lucas at Munich, and related by him in p. 219.

“ By the kindness of Professor Martius, I was allowed to inspect the pro-
pagating apparatus in the Botanical Garden at Munich. It is so fully de-
scribed by the inventor in the Garten Zeitung (see Gard. Mag. for June last),
that little remains to be added, except to state the results. The strongest proof
that the plan is good is, that it continues to act with the most complete suc-
cess, although the author of it has been removed to Ratisbon; for it is well
known that many plans are indebted for their success to the unwearied atten-
tion of the parent eye, and that, from passing into other hands, they are
frequently allowed to languish and decay. Nothing can be more simple than
the whole apparatus. It is nothing more than a common pit, with a flue
along the middle, on which is a reservoir of water, the steam from which
passes through the bed of charcoal, which is placed above it. Upon the
charcoal small glass frames of the commonest kinds are placed, to exclude the
air from the cuttings in their early stage. It may be suggested, and, indeed,
would immediately strike any one who examines the apparatus, that the suc-
cess may be owing to the moist heat in which the cuttings are constantly
kept. No question it is so in part ; but I am quite satisfied the extraordinary
results I witnessed are quite as much owing to the menstruum of propagation
as to the decided advantage above stated; and I doubt whether heat and
sand, under any circumstances, would cause the quantity of roots to be pro-
duced which I saw thereat the end of three weeks’ insertion in the bed. It is
necessary that the charcoal should be fine, but not in dust, which will con-
solidate, and prevent the fibres penetrating in every direction, as they do when
it is of the proper size. In some part of the process, fine peat is mixed with
the charcoal; but I think this is rather in the rooting afterwards, and that the
first process of striking, in most species, succeeds best in the pure material.
From what has been stated, it is clear the necessary apparatus is simple of
application, and of little cost ; a part of any flued pit, or one heated by hot
water, would answer every purpose ; though in any nursery, or even gentle-
man’s establishment, the making one on purpose would be of trifling expense
compared with the results, as, owing to the rapidity of the operation, a very
small bed would suffice. With respect to the virtues of the charcoal itself

654: Queries and Answers. — Obituary.

producing the results we are considering, I have little doubt that they consist
principally in the porous and perfectly permeable nature of it. The heat and
moisture are consequently present and passing through, without any satura-
tion, or stagnation, or induration taking place. There may be something in
the vegetative powers of it, but I imagine this to be the true cause of the
superiority over any other material as yet known for propagation. Many of
the plants on which it has succeeded are known to be the most difficult to
strike. There is another valuable article (see Gard. Mag. for June, p. 302.)
from M. Lucas, on the raising of seeds in snow. LUhave no doubt that this
is a grand secret or marvel gained from nature, by the discovery of one of her
own modes of operation. It is exactly analogous to the methods followed by
nature in the High Alps; and there is no doubt the gentians, and other
seeds of difficult growth, might easily be made to germinate by it. M. Lucas
recommends sand to cover the young plants on their first appearance ; but it
is doubtful whether fine tan would not answer a better purpose. (S. L.W.,
Carlton ; in Gard. Chron. for August 21. 1841, p. 459.)

Déphne Cnedrum and D. Dauphinii.— You do not, I think, sufficiently re-
commend to your readers the beautiful Daphne Cnedrum or the Daphne
Dauphini. Iam told some persons find the former difficult to manage. We
have no trouble with it. We keep laying it year after year, and so increase
our stock while we preserve it in vigour.— 7. W. Banks, near Barnsley,
June, 1857.

Art. V. Queries and Answers.

MMR. PARKYNS, the Author of “Monastic Remains” and of “ Designs for Laying out
Grounds.” —This gentleman, about the year 1800, began a work in folio, which
contained designs for villas, including the details of the house as well as of the
grounds. Only three or four numbers of the work were published, and it has
now become very scarce. We know of only one copy in London, but the
late ambassador Liston of Milburn Tower, near Edinburgh, who was intimate
with Mr. Parkyns, possessed a copy in 1804, and this copy must doubtless
have gone the way of the ambassador’s other books. What became of these
books we have been unable to ascertain ; but, if any reader can inform us,
or put us in the way of borrowing or purchasing the work of Mr. Parkyns
alluded to, we shall be very much obliged to him. — Cond.

Art. VI. Obituary.

AuGusTUs PYRAMUS DECANDOLLE died at Geneva on the 9th of Sep-
tember last. An individual of higher attainments as a botanist, or more
respected as a man, did not exist.

Prince Butera, a Hanoverian officer, who married a Sicilian princess, and
took her name, died recently. He was remarkably fond of horticulture, and
introduced many German practices into Sicily, among others the culture of
asparagus.

END OF THE SEVENTEENTH VOLUME.

Lonpon :

Printed by A. SPoTTISWOODE,
New-Street-Square.

i
iat

THE

GARDENER’S MAGAZINE,

‘THIRD SERIES.

CONDUCTED

By J. C. LOUDON, F.L.S. H.S. &c.

AUTHOR OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIAS OF GARDENING, OF AGRICULTURE, AND OF COTTAGE, FARM,
AND VILLA ARCHITECTURE, AND OF THE ARBORETUM BRITANNICUM AND
SUBURBAN GARDENER.

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR THE CONDUCTOR;

AND SOLD BY

LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS,
PATERNOSTER ROW ;

AND A. AND C. BLACK, EDINBURGH.
1841.

Habit.

Deciduous tree.
Evergreen.
& Palm tree.
@% Deciduous shrub.
4 Evergreen shrub.
x Deciduous under-shrub.
w. Evergreen under-shrub.
-@ Deciduous twiner, ligneous
or herbaceous.

$ Evergreen twiner, lig. or
herb.

-R Deciduous climber, lig. or
herb.

fi. Evergreen climber, lig. or
herb.

& Deciduous trailer, lig. or
-herb.

@. Evergreen trailer, lig. or
herb.

sx Deciduous creeper, lig. or
herb.

creeper, lig: or

¢@. Evergreen
herb.

Deciduous herbaceous plant.

¥ Evergreen herbaceous plant.

Grass.

% Bulbous plant.
Fusiform-rooted plant.

% Tuberous-rooted plant.

Aquatic.

Epiphyte.

Duration and Habitation.

Perennial.

Biennial.

Annual.

Bark, or moist, stove.

Dry stove.

Greenhouse.

__| Frame.

(Z) Bark stove perennial.

A) Dry stove perennial.

Greenhouse perennial.

Frame perennial.

Bark stove biennial.

Dry stove biennial.

Greenhouse biennial.

Frame biennial.

Bark stove annual.

Dry stove annual.

Greenhouse annual.

Frame annual,

261

mille

LLGoer

isjelelsie}ejele 42

Popular Character.

clt cultivated
in its na-

ag agricultural.
el clothing.

EXPLANATION

THE CHARACTERS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND INDICATIONS

USED IN BOTANICAL AND FLORICULTURAL NOTICES.

tivecoun-, p poisonous.

; pr pretty.
cu curious. rk for rock-
cul culinary. work.
de delicate. ro robust.
dy dyeing | spl splendid.
plant. tm timber tree.
ec economical, | un uninterest-
el elegant. ing.
esc esculent. w weed, abun-
fr fruit tree. dant in
fra fragrant. cultivated
gr grotesque. soils in its
m medicinal. native
or ornamental. country.
Height.
fit floating.
Colour of Flower.
Ap apetal-~ | G_ green.
ous. G1__ glaucous.
firug serugi- Go_ golden.
nous, Gsh_ greenish.
B blue. Gy grey.
Bd ___ blood. Hoa hoary.
Bh blush. L slight.
Bk _ black. | La lake.
Bksh blackish. |-Ld__ livid.
Br i brown. Lem lemon-co-
Bri__ brick- loured,
coloured. | Li lilac.
Brsh brown- Lu _lurid.*
ish. O orange.
Bsh bluish Och ochrace-
Bt bright ous.
Cc crimson. | Ol olive.
Czs cesious. | Oliva olivace-
Ch chestnut. ous.
Ci__ citron. P purple.
Cin cinereous-| Pa pale.
Cop copper- Pk pink, or
coloured. rose. -
Crea cream- Pl _cpelilucid.
coloured. | R red.
D dark. Ro rosy.
Din dingy. Rsh_ reddish.
Di dull. Ru _ rufous.
Dp _ deep. Rus russet.
F flesh. Rust rusty-co-
Fer ferrugi- loured.
nous. Ss scarlet.
Fi fiery. Saf saffron.
Fla flame- Sil silvery.
coloured. | Smo smoky
Ful = fulvid. ash-co-
Fus_ fuscous. lour.

Spot spotted. { Umb umber-

St striped. coloured.
Str straw. Vv violet.
Su sulphur | Va_ varie-
Tan tan-co- gated.
loured | Ve _ vermi-
Taw tawny. lion.
Test testace- | Vy veiny.
ous, W_ white
Tran transpa- | Wsh whitish.
rent. ¥G yellow.
Ysh yellowish
Native Country.
C. G. H. Cape of Good Hope.
E. Ind. East Indies.
N. Amer. North America.
N. Eur. North of Europe.
N. Holl. New Holland.
N.S. W. New South Wales.
S. Amer. South America.
S. Eur. South of Europe.
V. Di. L. Van Diemen’s Land.
W. Ind. West Indies.
Propagation.
B_ by budding.
Cc cuttings. *
D division of the plant.
G grafting.
I inarching.
L layers.
Ls leaves.
O offsets.
R division of the root.
SS) seeds.
Sk suckers.
Sozl.
aq. watery places.
co. common garden soil.
c.p. common peat or bog.
h. heavy rich clay.
h.l. heavy loam.
1. loam.
lp. loamand peat, most loam.
It. light vegetable soil.
It.l. light loam.
m.s. moist soil.
p. peat.
p-l. peat and loam, most peat.
r. rich garden soil.
rm. rich mould.
ru. rubbish.
S. sand.
s.] sandy loam.
S.p. sandy peat.
s.p.l. sand, peat, and loam.

The systematic names of plants are accented as in the Hortus Britannicus. The derivations of the
genera are given, and the specific systematic names literally translated, any explanatory words

accompanying such translation being printed in Italic.

Those names, whether of genera or species,

which are commemorative, as Banksia in honour of Sir Joseph Banks, are distinguished by having
the subjoined letters in Italic where the rest of the word is in Roman, and in Roman where the rest
of the word is in Italic, as Banksia; those which have been applied to plants by the classic writers of
antiquity are distinguished by having the initial letter in Italic, as Pyrus, where the rest of the

word is in Roman, and in Roman where the rest of the word is in Italic, as Pyrus.

All words,

generic or specific, of unknown derivation, or aboriginal names, are wholly in Italic or wholly in
Roman, according to the letter in which the preceding or following matter may be printed, as
Pedéria Lingun Boj., or Pedéria Lingun Boj.

Lonpon: Printed by A. Sporriswoopr, New-Street-Square.

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